Pok: I cannot recognise beneficiary groups

MINISTER for Petroleum Dr Fabian Pok says he cannot use his powers to recognise any landowner group of the Papuan LNG project when the process of beneficiary identification has not been completed.
He said it was not his duty to identify who became a beneficiary to the petroleum project but allow the developers to carry out their own landowner beneficiary identification process.
Okapa (Eastern Highlands) MP Saki Soloma said the Elk Antelope project was situated along the boundaries of three provinces – Chimbu, Eastern Highlands and Gulf – and that two tribes (Gimi and Pawasa) in the Okapa district were landowners and should
be recognised as beneficiary groups.
Gimi and Pawasa in Eastern Highlands also have tribesmen and land on the other side of Gulf and Chimbu.
Soloma said they had been struggling to be recognised as landowners since the exploration period of the project and therefore the department and the developer should recognise them and not just the people in Gulf.
However, Dr Pok said the developer (Total) was doing good a work in identifying the beneficiary groups and they must be allowed to conclude their work without disturbance.
He said as provided by law, it was the responsibility of the developer to look at the landowner identification and beneficiary groups.
“I can’t say I will recognise or not any group. Total is working on it. Only after Total completes the process then they would send it to the Department of Petroleum and the department will go out and verify it again to make sure things are done correctly,” Pok said.
“We do not want to repeat the mistakes of the PNG LNG project. So we want to make sure the Papuan LNG is done well and issues of landowner identification processes are done well.”