Landowners told to work together

 OIL stakeholders have been asked to coordinate with each other to ensure that their resource is efficiently and effectively managed.

The call came from Lake Kamu Basin Resources Ltd chairperson Airi Kaipu, who was reacting to a push for the conduct of a social mapping and landowner identification before actual oil drilling took place.

The communities at the Wahoo drilling site in East Kerema had asked InterOil and the Department of Petroleum and Energy (DPE) to carry out a stakeholders’ survey.

InterOil on Monday said it had started drilling the Wahoo-1 exploration well in Gulf following approval by DPE.

Wahoo-1 is the second of four exploration wells InterOil planned to drill in Gulf over the next 12-5 months.

The oil company will drill up to four appraisal wells on the Elk-Antelope and Triceratops discoveries under a US$300 million (K726 million) exploration and appraisal programme.

The drilling programme was one of the largest in the country and is part of InterOil’s exploration of four new petroleum prospecting licences (PPL) granted last week by the government. 

Petroleum and Energy minister Nixon Duban said: “The drilling of Wahoo-1 is good news for PNG. 

“We are excited at the potential of these exploration licences and the wealth that could be unlocked. 

“We hope the results live up to expectations and we look forward to a mutually beneficial partnership with InterOil for many years to come.”

InterOil’s chief executive Dr. Michael Hession said: “We take great pride in providing work for more than 1100 people in seismic and drilling, with another 300 expected to be taken on later this year. 

“We are delighted that our commitment to the country has been recognised through the continued support of the national and provincial governments and the newly appointed Petroleum and Energy minister (Duban), as we work to develop Papua New Guinea’s resources for the benefit of all Papua New Guineans and our shareholders.”