Project’s in Gulf, says Duma

 THE Elk Antelope project is located in Gulf and not any other part of the country, Petroleum and Energy Minister William Duma says.

Clearing a misconception by Chimbu Governor Noah Kool on the location of the project, Duma told parliament yesterday that a social mapping and landowner identification process were undertaken and completed.

He said Elk Antelope was near the border of Gulf and Chimbu but an aerial and geological survey undertaken by the department confirmed the project was in Gulf. 

In addressing Kool’s concern about the lack of exploration and prospecting reports on the PPL 334 project after licences were issued to various investors for exploration within Chimbu, Duma said the petroleum prospecting licence (PPL) process took five years.

He said the first three years was dedicated to desk studies, which included studying maps, doing aerial survey and even drilling, and was a very expensive exercise for the prospecting company.

“Unlike fisheries and forestry it is difficult to see or determine what is underneath naturally, therefore it is very expensive costing almost 20 million dollars to conduct desk studies,” he said.

“What happens is for every 10 holes the company drills only one is successful and if they find nothing then they have wasted their money.”