Polye urges Government to accept K725m offer

OPPOSITION Leader Don Polye has urged the Government to accept the K725 million offer by some PNG LNG landowners to buy 4.27 per cent equity in the project.
“To reject the offer will be a slap in the face of landowners who have sacrificed so much to accommodate the PNG LNG project, provide project security, and allow the spiritual Gigira Laitepo gas to be extracted and sold to markets overseas, without a single toea of cash flow flowing back into their hands since first LNG export in May 2014,” Polye said in a statement.
“It is a very prudent offer to the Government.” The wellhead landowners from the PNG LNG impact provinces had submitted their proposal to Treasurer Patrick Pruaitch on Jan 19 for him to table in Cabinet.
They include Petroleum Development Licence wellhead and facilities landowners from Greenfield PDL One, Seven, Eight and Nine, and Brownfield PDL Two and  Four.
Pruaitch then wrote to Prime Minister Peter O’Neill on Jan 26 recommending that it was a better option than the vendor financing offer by the Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited.
The Opposition leader said when he was treasurer, he had contemplated the same pricing level when framing the 2014 Budget.
“At that time, I anticipated that the sell-down of the 4.27 per cent equity to the landowners will bring K600 million into the Public Accounts as a revenue measure plus a further K100 million to finance the 2015 Budget,” Polye said.
He said the current offer by the landowners through the Treasurer “is in fact a confirmation and acceptance of the Government’s pricing level, which has received prior approval by Cabinet and Parliament”.