Somare switches on InterOil’s record gas find

By *SUSUVE LAUMAEA

MONDAY March 2, 2009 was a special day for Papua New Guinea.
It was the day PNG announced to the world that it had become the home of the Southern Hemisphere and quite possibly the world’s largest vertical column of natural gas and gas condensate discovery.
Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare had travelled with his wife Lady Veronica, daughter Betha and son Sana to InterOil’s Antelope-1 discovery well on the day at the head of an contingent of PNG government ministers and department heads, PNG and overseas corporate guests, InterOil executives and a strong media corps to officially switch it on. He officially flowed and flared the find for experts to determine the exact size of the discovery.
And it was a sight to behold as the Prime Minister assisted by InterOil CEO Phil Mulacek (pictured above) officially opened a smaller side valve of Antelope-1 well to flow and flare a small fireworks side-show for onlookers for about 20 minutes before Sir Michael again with Mulacek assisting opened the main valve to flow and flare the well again – this time creating a flame wall that intensified and rose to a height of almost 50 metres.
The heat generated the flare was something else.
By design, InterOil engineers had already pumped in a couple of million gallons of water from the nearby Purari River into a side well to provide a cooling water curtain to prevent VIP spectators and drill site workers from the intense heat.
The ground trembled beneath the feet of all present and natural gas and some condensate rumbled upwards from deep in the earth to be flared in a volcano-like spectacle.
The noise generated by the upward rumble and release of gas and condensate was akin to two or three jumbo jets landing simultaneously at Port Moresby’s Jacksons Airport.
It was awesome and everyone present had to wear ear-mufflers to prevent ear-drums bursting.
A visibly excited Prime Minister later announced to his ministers and departmental officials, InterOil’s guests and the media at the Antelope-1 site: “It is with great pleasure that I announce a World record natural gas discovery in Papua New Guinea.
“This discovery will place PNG as a co-leader with Australia in supplying LNG to the Asian Markets.
“The Antelope-1 well, which today flowed at a new world and PNG record rate of 383 million cubic feet per day with 5,000 bbl of condensate and a third party confirmed-capacity of 17.7 BCF (billion cubic feet per day) of gas, places PNG as one of the best quality gas producers in the world with a 760-metre column of gas.
“For our country, this marks an accomplishment that was achieved through many years of mutual cooperation between the government of PNG and InterOil Corporation.
“InterOil has been a continuous supporter of our country for over a decade. The company committed resources and capital over the entire time-frame to building the largest infrastructure in our country and making a substantial contribution to the country’s outstanding GDP growth and employment.
“InterOil built and operates the refinery at Napa Napa, streamlined and manages our largest refined product distribution network, and conducted the largest exploration program in the country’s history.
“This has culminated in the international success we share today,” Sir Michael said on Monday, March 2, 2009.
At the “burn-off” the Antelope-1 well flowed at 382 million cubic feet of natural gas per day (MMcfd) with 5,000 barrels of condensate per day (BCPD) for a total 68,700 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOEPD), setting a new record rate for Papua New Guinea.
The flow test recorded a maximum calculated rate at 545 MMcfd for a dry gas reading through a 6 inch capacity choke that was only opened to 3 ½ inches or about 30% of capacity.
Conservatively adjusting the dry gas flow rate of 545 MMcfd to compensate for 13 Bbls of condensate per MMcf resulted in the foregoing 382 MMcf effective gas flow rate.
“As far as we are aware, the world record breaking gas flow rate from a vertical well confirms other records recently established by the well, such as the largest vertical hydrocarbon column height in a single onshore carbonate reef structure and the largest calculated absolute open flow (CAOF) at 17.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day,” InterOil Chairman and CEO Phil Mulacek said.
“The well results establish the country of Papua New Guinea as a world class gas resource base in close proximity to the largest and most well developed LNG market in the world.
“InterOil believes the Antelope-1 well clearly confirms the gas resource potential sufficient to proceed with plans to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant on company land next to the InterOil refinery in Port Moresby.
“Antelope-1 and previous wells, have confirmed over 120% of full capacity, estimated at 500 MMcfd, for the first proposed LNG train.
“Third party resource estimates are underway and will be released when completed in the next few weeks.
“Recent settlement agreement with Merrill Lynch uniquely positions InterOil to enter direct negotiations with industry partners on an ownership stake in the Elk/Antelope structure, an ownership stake in the proposed LNG plant and long-term LNG offtake contracts,” Mulacek said.
InterOil’s PNG partner and State-owned company Petromin Limited hailed the discovery as a significant boost to underpin PNG’s second Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project.
“Let me firstly thank the Prime Minister, Minister for Petroleum and Energy and other Ministers of Government for facilitating (development of) Papua New Guinea’s second LNG Project,” Managing Director and CEO Joshua Kalinoe said.
“Declaration of Location and the extension of the License areas (by the Petroleum and Energy Minister William Duma on site during the official flowing and flaring of Antelope-1) now pave the way for Petromin and the Operator, InterOil to commercialize the project.
“The flaring of Antelope 1 on Monday, March 2, 2009 underpins a first train 3.5 million tons per annum capacity plant at an estimated cost of US$5 billion. As we prove up reserves through further exploration drilling we will add another one or two trains.
“For Petromin, the State and people of Papua New Guinea this will be our single largest petroleum project where Papa New Guineans will be given the opportunity to be active participants in the whole value chain.
“The Board and management of Petromin made the decision to farm-in on the Elk/Antelope project after going through an internal risk assessment process.
“When we signed the Investment Agreement with InterOil in October last year, our petroleum geologists and reservoir engineers assessed the risk and made the observation that the Elk/Antelope field is less risky and highly prospective and recommended the farm-in arrangement.
“This second LNG project for PNG is unique and innovative in many ways. One such innovation is that there is a lot of flexibility on how the project will eventually be structured so that InterOil can bring in strategic partners to underwrite the LNG project.
“Further more, all the high quality condensate will be sold to the InterOil Refinery in Port Moresby, adding more value to the Papua New Guinea economy.
“The condensate extraction is planned to commence in 2010. So some benefits will accrue to the project partners years before the actual gas is sold as LNG.
“The innovative and competitive approach to project financing that we are currently pursuing collectively with InterOil and Pacific LNG will ensure that no State assets will be sold or swapped to finance the State’s equity.
“In fact Petromin with the support of InterOil and Pacific LNG is working on a financing structure that would ensure that State’s full 20.5% equity in the upstream and 10% in the midstream will not be diluted either directly or indirectly.
“We are determined to ensure that the State and people of PNG maximize their gains from this project both through the revenue stream as well as through technology transfer.
Petromin and InterOil have forged a very solid long term strategic commercial partnership.
“In this regard, I am happy to announce that InterOil and its downstream partners have agreed for Petromin to co-market its share of the LNG.
“This will make Petromin a fully integrated petroleum company in which Papua New Guineans will for the first time be given the opportunity to participate in the full value chain of the LNG business.
“This is what our political leaders envisaged when Parliament created Petromin in 2007. InterOil has now made it possible for this vision to be realized.
“We are determined to promptly deliver the second LNG project to Papua New Guineans on schedule in 2014 and the operator, InterOil has commenced the pre-FEED process, including contractor identification, financing, marketing, landowner study, and environmental study.
“Work is in advanced stages in putting together the PDL application. We want to thank the Minister for his expeditious actions in declaring the location of the gas find and extending the exploration licenses.
“We know that the project has the unequivocal support of the Prime Minister and our political leaders, especially members of Cabinet.
Accordingly we look forward to the project being given priority consideration as far as regulatory and statutory approvals are concerned.
“In fact, we are pleased to note that the approval process for the LNG Project Agreement for the liquefaction plant is progressing well.
“We understand that the Ministerial Gas Committee has given it the fullest attention.
“We now got the gas, international LNG recognition, and all we need is the LNG Project Agreement to be approved so that we meet the construction deadline,” Mr Kalinoe said.

*Susuve Laumaea is an award-winning veteran PNG journalist. He works for InterOil Corporation as the company’s Senior PNG Manager for Media Relations & Public Affairs. He also writes a weekly Public Affairs column for the Port Moresby-based weekly Sunday Chronicle newspaper.

LNG project financing now in place

By DANIEL KORIMBAO
Editor-In-Chief, The National

The global financial crisis has wrought havoc around the world, with some of the world’s major banks like Lehman Brothers having collapsed, and others forced to merge or surviving with huge government bailout programmes.
Major economies are either in recession, or their growths have dramatically slowed.
Big companies around the world like Toyota of Japan have reported unprecedented losses, and have cut back production and sacked workers to stay afloat.
With a lot of uncertainty and some level of distrust hanging over the global scene, banks and financial institutions are refusing to lend money, and even viable companies are now in trouble or unsure about their future.
Against this very gloomy backdrop, some in government found it not unreasonable to describe it as a “coup” when it was announced that the government had secured the necessary funding from an international source to finance its equity in the PNG LNG project (map above).
The LNG project is a massive project which will cost about US11$ billion.
Project operator ExxonMobil and its partners plan to draw gas from reservoirs in the Southern Highlands province, and transport it by pipeline to the Konebada Petroleum Park outside Port Moresby where it will be processed and exported.
The government decided it would take up the full 19.4% equity in the project, and not sell it down.
It had to secure financing to take up this equity, and chose to seek the funds offshore, aware that failure could raise questions about the credibility of the entire project.
In November last year, State Enterprises Minister Arthur Somare, who had led the negotiations for funding, announced that a deal had been struck with International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC).
An agreement was concluded by the Independent Public Business Corporation on behalf of the National Government with IPIC, which is wholly owned by the Abu Dhabi Government of the United Arab Emirates.
Essentially, the government under this agreement is exchanging its 17.56% stake in Oil Search, held by IPBC as trustee, for $A1.6 billion from IPIC under an exchangeable bonds arrangement.
The deal attracted its fair share of criticism from the Opposition and the Treasury Department.
But it also won applause from leaders of some financial institutions that attended the PNG Mining and Petroleum Conference in Sydney in December.
A legal action by Petromin Ltd threatened to derail the financial deal.
Petromin CEO Joshua Kalinoe believed his organisation was legally vested the power to advance the LNG project, and not IPBC.
The legal action was later withdrawn, removing an unwanted hurdle to the deal.
Last week, Minister Somare announced that IPIC had deposited 1.681 billion Australian dollars into a quarantined bank account in Singapore.
The account is ‘quarantined’ because the use of the funds will be exclusively for the purposes of funding the government’s equity and its contribution to the capital expenditure of the Project.
Funds will be made available when required as the PNG LNG Project proceeds from the current front end engineering and design (FEED) stage to project construction.
The LNG Project consortium led by ExxonMobil has set a timetable that will result in a final investment decision by the end of this year with project implementation to commence in early 2010.
Mr Somare reiterated the point to Members in Parliament last week that the PNG Government’s financing arrangement with IPIC provided an added element of certainty to the project, which promises to transform the national economy when gas is exported in 2014.
The finalisation of this financing deal also adds greater confidence around the Project, especially at this time when the Project is focused on tying up marketing, debt financing, and engineering, construction, and procurement contracts before Project Sanction in October and Final Investment Decision in December this year, the minister added.
Given the stage the PNG LNG Project is currently at in FEED, the Project’s eventual delivery commencing early next year will position Papua New Guinea as the newest gas supplier to the world.
According to Mr Somare, the PNG LNG project is prioritised as number five in the global pipeline of LNG projects earmarked for development.
In the Asia Pacific region, the PNG LNG Project is ranked number one.
Clearly, the Government is committed to ensuring that Papua New Guinea can commence LNG exports by late 2013 early 2014.
With financing for equity now securely in the bank, the government needs to move quickly to address the concerns of landowners, and to have in place the benefit sharing agreement.
Landowners in Southern Highlands, Gulf and Central provinces need to be satisfied about their involvement in this massive project.
The rest of PNG will also need to be assured of their benefit in this project.

Insect farm closes without warning

By PISAI GUMAR

 

INSECT Farming and Trading Agency (IFTA), the only insect collection, farming and trading agency in Papua New Guinea, has shut its operation in Bulolo, The National reports.

An insider, who requested anonymity, said last week the agency had laid off five employees without paying their final entitlements for reasons that were unknown.

The source said the agency shifted its operations to the rainforest habitat at the University of Technology in Lae last November. IFTA now owed insect farmers around the country, including those in Buka, Highlands, Oro, Sepik and parts of Morobe, payments for insects sold to it, the source said.

“It had also failed to notify the farmers of its new location,” the source said.

The insider said the Unitech Development Consultancy (UDC) shut down IFTA at Bulolo without prior arrangement and notice.

“It’s a slap in the face for the five women and the farmers who had contributed to the agency and the country,” the source said.

“The reasons for their actions remain unknown.”

The closure has left many rural insect farmers in a spot.

Most of them have been checking on the old office, only to find its doors locked.

Insect farming is a thriving business in the country – insect art frames are sold locally and dried species are exported to several countries.

It has collected and identified more than 7,000 species of butterflies and other insect species, including the largest Alexandra butterfly, the largest Hercules moth and largest wingless stick insect.

Attempts to get comments from UDC director Jeffery Zuzu were unsuccessful.

Another source said the company relocated to solve logistical problems.

Marriage

I received the story below from a friend. It’s quite touching, more so for me, as this week marks the first anniversary of the death of my beloved wife Hula.

When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I've got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes.

Suddenly I didn't know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I wanted a divorce. I raised the topic calmly.

 She didn't seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why? I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the serving spoon and shouted at me, "You are not a man!"

 That night, we didn't talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Dew. I didn't love her anymore. I just pitied her!

 With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company.  She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Dew so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now.

The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn't have diner but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Dew. When I woke up, after perhaps two hours, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.

 In the morning she presented her divorce conditions:

•           She didn't want anything from me, but needed a month's notice before the divorce.

•           She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month's time and she didn't want to disrupt him with our broken marriage. This was agreeable to me.

•           But she had something more. She asked me to recall how I had carried her into the bridal room on our wedding day. She requested that everyday for one month I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door every morning.

 I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.

 I told Dew about my wife's divorce conditions. She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully.

 My wife and I hadn't had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy.

 Our son clapped behind us, "daddy is holding mummy in his arms..." His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; ‘don't tell our son about the divorce’. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.

 On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn't looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was greying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her.

 On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me.

 On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn't tell Dew about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger.

 She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily. Suddenly it hit me... She had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.

 Our son came in at the moment and said, dad, it's time to carry mum out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day.

 But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn't noticed that our life lacked intimacy.

 I drove to office.... Jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind... I walked upstairs. Dew opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Dew, I do not want the divorce anymore.  She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead. "Do you have a fever?" She said.  I moved her hand off my head. "Sorry, Dew," I said, "I won't divorce.

My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn't value the details of our lives, not because we didn't love each other anymore. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death does us apart."

 Dew seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away.  At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, I'll carry you out every morning until death do us apart.

 That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I run up stairs, only to find my wife in the bed - dead.

 The small details of your lives are what really matter in a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the bank, blah....blah.blah. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves. So find time to be your spouse's friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage!

 

 

The 'wows' of unforgettable Wau

Captions: 1. The author (centre) with  colleagues Sampson Bonai (left) and Vii Killar at the start of the Hidden Valley Access Road at the back of Bulolo. Picture by SIMON ANAKAPU. 2. Panorama of the Bulolo and Watut valleys from the Hidden Valley Access Road. Picture by SIMON ANAKAPU.3. Welome sign just outside Wau town.Picture by RONALD DEL VALLE.

 

In July 2003, I became arguably the first Papua New Guinea journalist ever to walk the old Black Cat Trail between Salamaua and Wau, Morobe Province, which makes the Kokoda Trail seem like a Sunday arvo stroll in the park.

This is because it is not an established trail like Kokoda, on which hundreds of trekkers regularly tread, but a forgotten gold rush and World War 11 course that passes through some of the toughest and most-hazardous terrain in the world.

Leech and snake-infested jungle, moss -covered rocks and fallen tree stumps, precarious cliff crossings, and numerous river crossings make the Black Cat one of the toughest tracks in PNG and the world.

It is recommended only for the very-fit and experienced trekker.

Some Australian soldiers have described the Black Cat as the hardest walk they’d ever done.

 The Lonely Planet guidebook quotes a local expat as saying the Black cat is “suitable only for masochists and Israeli paratroopers”.

After five days of torture through leech-infested country, slippery logs and rocks, as well as numerous other obstacles straight out of a commando-training manual, we descended into kunai country and were rewarded with our first glimpse of Wau.

“Wau! Wow!” went through my mind as I glimpsed down on this famous gold mining township.

I wrote articles for local and international newspapers, magazines and websites – being then employed by the PNG Tourism Promotion Authority - and it has been greatly because of this exposure that the Black Cat has developed into a tourism icon over the last five years.

To this day I still dream of conquering another WW11 icon, the Bulldog Trail, which stretches between Wau and the Gulf province.

Last year, I again visited Wau and Bulolo, and certainly could feel the song in the air as we drove up the scenic Wau-Bulolo Highway from Lae.

There was a feeling of excitement and optimism akin to the historical gold mining days of the 1920’s and 1930’s.

The discovery of gold at Edie Creek above Wau in 1926 sparked off a gold rush of massive proportions which led to the exploitation of the rich deposits of the Bulolo-Watut river system by large-scale mechanised mining.

The Bulolo region was at the time one of the largest gold fields in the world.

A total of seven dredges scoured the valley floor, dredging thousands of tones of high grade gold-bearing ore.

Remote Hidden Valley near the border of Central and Gulf provinces has become a hive of activity as Morobe Mining Joint Ventures work on a renaissance project.

Evening over the Bulolo and Watut valleys as we drive back is a sight to behold as we watch the panorama unfold.

“This is God’s country,” remarks MMJV public relations manager Simon Anakapu.

And I couldn’t agree more!

Last Saturday, whilst in the office, my colleague and Wau-Bulolo veteran Yehiura Hriewazi told me that trouble had erupted in Wau.

The news broke my heart as places like Wau, neighbouring Bulolo, Watut, Aseki and Menyamya are very special to me.

Violence erupted in Wau last Friday and Saturday, leaving two people dead, several injured, houses and property destroyed, and forcing the temporary shutdown of the Hidden Valley gold mine and the evacuation of employees.

The incident comes just before Hidden Valley is to pour its first gold and could have severe repercussions for Papua New Guinea on the international mining scene.

A long-standing land dispute between Biangai and Watut tribes over ownership of the 2076 hectare McAdam National Park between Wau and Bulolo came to a head as the Watuts gathered in Wau in their hundreds and staged attacks on the Biangai villages.

The news sent shockwaves through Morobe province, Papua New Guinea, and the world, as so many expatriates worked or were born and raised in Wau.

Among these was Jamon Alex Halvaksz, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Texas in San Antonio, USA.

He emailed me telling me of how distressed he was at the goings in Wau, as while in PNG, he had spent almost all his time in the Biangai villages of Elauru and Winima doing his research paper.

Prof Halvaksz was in PNG in 1996, 1998, 2000-2002, and again in 2005, working on his paper about the affects that colonialism has had on Biangai development aspirations.

It is a fascinating paper which touches on many things, including the infamous ‘Kaisenik Killings’ of 1926-1927, and could I not sleep for want of reading it on Monday night.

Widely reported and a common feature in miners’ monologues, the ‘Kaisenik Killings’ remain a significant event for contemporary figures in and around Wau and feature centrally in discussions with Biangai about the arrivals of whites.

It was quite ironic, and a frightening sense of déjà vu, that Kaisenik was burned to the ground by rampaging Watut tribesmen last Saturday.

“The history of Wau township in Morobe province, Papua New Guinea, is intimately linked with the development of gold mining throughout the region,” Prof Halvaksz writes in the abstract of his paper.

“The site of a series of gold rushes in the 1920s, Wau emerged as an early administrative outpost, a town complete with all the trappings of frontier Australian communities.

“In recent years, Wau has declined, and the Biangai communities reflect on this decline in ways that manipulate both the early colonial discourses and their own.

“In this paper I examine the gold rush, how early prospectors conceptualised the colonial project, and what Wau’s subsequent decline has meant to the Biangai who now pursue new mining opportunities.

“I trace these events and perspectives through historical and present-day discourses.”

Reading Prof Halvaksz’s paper gave me a whole new insight into the Biangai people and the history of Wau and the gold rush days.

He recommended quite a few papers about the Watut and Biangai by John Burton, who used to work for Hidden Valley, including one available online - http://rspas.anu.edu.au/papers/rmap/Wpapers/rmap_wp01.pdf - in which he writes about Watut social organisation.

His last paragraph is most telling.

My prayer, after reading all these, was that peace could reign once more in Wau so that outsiders like me can take our families there to enjoy its unmatched beauty.

 

 

Bulolo and Wau website

http://www.freewebs.com/bulolo_png/.

 

Wau and Bulolo are two of the prettiest and most-historic towns in Papua New Guinea with picturesque rolling hills and snaking rivers – which if they could speak – would tell you so much.

In the rivers and creeks, village miners are quietly sifting a fortune in gold dust, using crude wooden sluices made from bush materials and cheap metal pans.

The discovery of gold at Edie Creek above Wau in 1926 sparked off a gold rush of massive proportions which led to the exploitation of the rich deposits of the Bulolo-Watut river system by large-scale mechanised mining.

The Bulolo region was at the time one of the largest gold fields in the world.

A total of seven dredges scoured the valley floor, dredging thousands of tones of high grade gold-bearing ore.

And you can see the natural beauty and panorama of Wau and Bulolo – indeed God’s country – by visiting this website http://www.freewebs.com/bulolo_png/.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Sorcery suspect handed in

By JAMES APA GUMUNO

MOGE Kimnika tribesmen in Western Highlands province have surrendered to the police one of their men wanted in connection with a double murder, The National  reports.

The suspect, who is in custody, was among six people who allegedly killed a man and his son late last month after accusing them of using sorcery to kill one of their tribesmen at Bun village outside Mt Hagen city.

Metropolitan commander Chief Insp Peter Roari said yesterday people had killed their own tribesmen in the province since last year after accusing them of sorcery, but not one suspect had been handed over to the police “even though the killings and torture had taken place in front of many people”.

He said on Monday, the Moge Kimnika tribesmen, led by upcoming leader and businessman Michael Onda, were the first to surrender to the police one of their own tribesmen allegedly involved in the killing of Anis Plak and in causing grievous bodily harm to his father, Plak Dua, who died two weeks later.

Chief Insp Roari said the surrender came about after several meetings the police had with the Moge tribe.

He commended Mr Onda and the community elders for taking the lead in the meetings and surrendering the suspect.

He said the suspect had been charged with two counts of wilful murder and would appear today at the Mt Hagen District Court for mention.

He said the five other suspects were still at large, and hoped they, too, would give themselves up.

Chief Insp Roari said he was happy with the Moge people for showing a good example to other Western Highlanders.

He said this clearly showed that there was good leadership in the Moge Kimnika tribe.

Papua New Guinea students make international appeal for universal education and gender equality

Picture captions: 1. Port Moresby Grammar School headgirl Alida Gubag discussing Millenium Development Goals (MDG) issues with New Zealand students during a PNG/New Zealand school video conference at the World Bank's PNG Office. The video conference last Friday involving students from the Port Moresby Grammar School and St Josephs International College was organised by the British High Commission. 2.  The Port Moresby Grammar School and St Josephs International College students discussing Millenium Development Goals (MDG) issues with New Zealand students during a PNG/New Zealand school video conference at the World Bank's PNG Office. The video conference last Friday involved students from the Port Moresby Grammar School and St Josephs International College and was organised by the British High Commission.

A group of Papua New Guinea students have appealed to the international community to give priority to universal education and gender equality.

The Port Moresby Grammar School and St Josephs International College students made the appeal last Friday at the end of an hour-long video conference discussion on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with peers from schools in Wellington, New Zealand.

“The first is we’d like gender equality to be promoted and second is for the quality of education in all schools to be improved. We want the international community to do something to better facilitate the level of education to enable developing countries to reach the Millennium Development Goals (targets in 2015),” said students Freesia Wavine and Ferdinand Lambo on behalf of their PNG colleagues.

Their New Zealand peers passed on their concerns to the 300 regional and international leaders who attended the March 20-21 MDG symposium at Wellington’s Victoria University.

The UK Minister for the Pacific Gillian Merron and PNG’s sole woman MP and Community Development Minister Dame Carol Kidu attended and participated in the symposium.

The students’ discussions centered on the MDGs, especially MDG 2 on “achieving universal primary education” with the questions and subsequent discussions focusing on education in PNG, HIV/AIDS and violence against women.

Acting British High Commissioner to PNG, Colin Glass, said he hoped the students had fun and would take away with them the importance of the MDGs. 

The PNG students, who were made MDG Ambassadors and presented certificates of participation, thanked the British High Commission in both Port Moresby and Wellington for organising the video conference.

The students’ lively discussion concluded with the PNG side singing the National Anthem and their New Zealand peers reciprocating with their rendition of the Haka.

Bulolo MP takes offence at The National editorial

Caption: Bulolo MP Sam Basil (right) presents K20, 000 to Morobe police chief Peter Guiness as provincial administrator Patilias Gamato and others look on.

 

Bulolo MP Sam Basil has taken offence at today’s editorial in The National titled ‘Rushed aid is counterproductive’ which questioned his giving K100,000 to help victims of last weekend’s stand-off between Watut and Biangai tribes in Wau.

Greatly-distressed Mr Basil said today that the editorial was “very insensitive to the highly-volatile and sensitive situation in Wau at the moment”.

The MP made a commitment of K100, 000 to help those displace by the stand-off last Sunday, however, today’s editorial claimed that this would be “counterproductive”.

“If the Biangais were to mobilise tomorrow for a return raid and similar violence was visited upon the Watut, would it be incumbent upon the Member to offer similar assistance?” the editorial posed.

“Were the killers apprehended?

“What processes have been set in motion to determine who really are the rightful landowners?

“How will the Watuts react to their Member’s sudden outpouring of cash gifts towards their sworn enemy?”

Mr Basil replied that the editorial was only adding more fuel to the fire.

“I would appreciate your editorial comment as such to be made at least some days after the event,” he said.

“The money is, as you know, not only for relief supplies for the people who lost their homes, including a woman who gave birth in the bushes at Kaisenik village.

“It is also for the police operations as since their deployment on Friday/Saturday, they barely have rations, as Morobe Mining Joint Venture’s supplies have been depleted.

“The district administrator and his team also do not have capacity in terms of fuel, vehicles, food rations, camping gear, and many other contributing factors to handle the situation.

“It is not good to talk about what the Watut thinks about helping me their rivals!

“The way this paper has put it, is that it wants to spark more violence, by providing arguing points for the rival clans to use.

“I can't just watch the mothers hiding in the bushes giving birth while the children suffer from hunger and cold.

“The relief supplies from national and provincial governments, as we all know, all too often come too late after people die.

“For sure, if the Watuts suffer tomorrow, it is my duty to help, regardless of which ever side of the factions they come from.

“It may be best to ask all media to refrain from making such comments until the two factions come to the round table.”

Meanwhile, Mr Basil today presented K20, 000 – from his K100, 000 commitment - to Morobe provincial police commander Peter Guiness to assist police logistics during their stay in Wau.

Provincial administrator Patilias Gamato thanked Mr Basil for the money saying that “it is very timely as the police logistical support is minimal”.

“While the provincial and national government assistance is a while away, this help from the local MP is very timely,” he said.

Mr Basil said: “The remainder of the funds will be used for Bulolo district administration staff to help with logistics and administration, while the Biangai and the Watut people who lost their homes will be attended to by receiving relief supplies.”

 

Morobe government commits K300, 000 for Wau victims

The Morobe provincial executive council today made a commitment of K320, 000 to assist victims of the two-day standoff between Biangai and Watut villagers in Wau last Friday and Saturday.

Details are to be announced by Governor Luther Wenge.

Bulolo MP Sam Basil has already committed K100, 000 from his district funds while Menyamya MP Benjamin Philip has pledged K5, 000.

The provincial disaster committee has also provided relief supplies such as tarpaulin, rice and saucepans to Biangai villagers affected by the raid by Watuts.

Meanwhile, Mr Basil, provincial administrator Patilias Gamato and provincial disaster committee chairman Benson Suwang will visit affected villages tomorrow.

 

 

Wau situation quite, but tense, after two days of violence

The situation in Wau, Morobe province, remains tense but quite after the violence of last Friday and Saturday which saw two people killed, several injured, houses and property destroyed and the temporary shutdown of Hidden Valley gold mine and the evacuation of employees.
This was independently confirmed today (Monday) by Bulolo MP Sam Basil, district administrator Nemsin Kibisep, Bulolo-based police mobile squad (MS) 15 commander Michael Tilae and a Morobe Mining Joint Venture spokesman.
A mobile squad from Port Moresby is guarding the mine as local mine employees from either Watut or Biangai villages left for their own security
The Morobe provincial executive council was in a meeting for most of today to discuss the urgency of the situation and approve funding to assist those displaced after Watut villagers attacked Biangai villages last Friday and Saturday.
Mr Basil and other leaders will again travel to the affected areas tomorrow (Tuesday) to continue to broker peace among the warring factions.
“After the last two days of meeting with people from both sides, the Watuts and the Biangais, the situation has started to calm down,” Mr Kibisep said from Bulolo.
“Over the weekend, up until Sunday, we had the involvement of Bulolo MP Sam Basil, Morobe Governor Luther Wenge, Menyamya MP Benjamin Philip, provincial administrator Patilias Gamato, provincial police commander Peter Guiness, and all the local level government presidents of Bulolo.
“The purpose of the meetings at the weekend was to get both sides to lay down their arms and come to a roundtable discussion.
“Both sides have taken the message on board and laid down their arms.
“We’ve also given both groups seven days to identify the reasons they are fighting, especially the Watuts.”
Mr Kibisep said two people had been confirmed killed, the number of injured was unknown, while the whole village of Kaisenik and parts of Kwembu were burned down.
MS15 commander Mr Tilae said from Wau police were in the Biangai villages today helping dislocated people to come out of hiding in the bushes.
“Things are quite but I shouldn’t compromise on that,” he said.
A spokesman for MMJV, operators of Hidden Valley, said from Lae the mine re-opened on Sunday.
“Hidden Valley is back to normal despite the tension and problems,” he said.
“Contractors returned to the site on Sunday and this morning.
“The only people not on site are those local employees, who are from either Biangai or Watut.
“We had to temporarily suspend operations when the trouble flared up last Friday and Saturday.
“Otherwise, the situation is still sensitive, so we have to handle things in a very-sensitive manner.”

A song for Hula (on the 1st anniversary of her death today)

O past! O life! O songs of joy!  

In the air—in the woods—over fields;  

Loved! loved! loved! loved! loved!  

But my love no more, no more with me!

We two together no more.

 

(Out Of The Candle Endlessly Rocking, Walt Whitman)

In Loving Memory of Hula Debe Nalu

In loving memory of Hula Debe Nalu, who left us all alone on Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008.

Sadly missed by husband Malum and children Malum Jr, Gedi, Moasing, Keith; relatives in Iruupi, Western province and Australia; in-laws in Lae and Port Moresby; plus friends in Lae, Goroka, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, Australia and the world.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glint on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you wake in the morning hush,

I am the swift, uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circling flight.

I am the soft starlight at night.

Do not stand at my grave and weep.

I am not there, I do not sleep.

Do not stand at my grave and cry.

I am not there, I did not die!

Mary Frye (1932)

Bulolo MP commits K100, 000 for fight victims as Hidden Valley gold mine comes under tight security

Bulolo MP Sam Basil today (Sunday) committed K100, 000 from his district funds to provide immediate relief for victims of the two-day standoff between Biangai and Watut villagers last Friday and Saturday.

Mr Basil, flanked by Morobe Governor Luther Wenge, Menyamya MP Benjamin Philip and provincial administrator Patilias Gamato, made the commitment at Kaisanek village, which was burned to the ground by raiding Watut villagers last Friday, leaving 300-400 people homeless.

He said K40, 000 would go towards combating the existing law and order problem, while K60, 000 would help the affected villagers to rebuild their homes.

Mr Philip made a pledge of K5, 000 while the Morobe provincial government will have an urgent provincial executive council meeting today (Monday) to discuss its assistance.

Mr Basil urged Kaisanek and other Biangai villagers not to take the law into their own hands after being attacked by the Watuts.

Earlier, the group met with a group of Watuts at Wau, who said they would give their reasons for attacking the Biangai villagers within seven days.

The leaders late yesterday flew into Upper Watut, where tension was running high, and told the 1,000 or so people not to partake in any more violence as the matter was being looked into.

Meantime, the Hidden Valley gold mine is being guarded by a 40-man mobile squad from Port Moresby after being invaded by up to 2,000 Watut villagers last Saturday.

Provincial administrator Patilias Gamato said he and provincial police commander Peter Guiness saw 1,000-2,000 Watut people, mainly youths, converge on Hidden Valley last Saturday only to be turned back by the mobile squad.

“We brought in a police mobile squad from Port Moresby late on Saturday afternoon to guard the mine,” he said.

Mr Gamata said many long-running issues had contributed to the standoff, including a recent incident at the McAdam National Park, where a Watut man was allegedly killed by Biangais.

Just last week, up to 57 Biangai men were jailed, for allegedly fighting against the Watuts and killing the man.

 

Violence erupts in Wau, leaving three dead and Hidden Valley gold mine shut

Caption: Burnout remains of a house at Kaisenik village in Wau yesterday. Picture by SAM BASIL.

 

Violence erupted in Wau, Morobe province at the weekend, leaving three people dead, several injured, houses and property destroyed, and forcing the temporary shutdown of the Hidden Valley gold mine and the evacuation of employees.

The incident comes just before Hidden Valley is to pour its first gold and could have severe repercussions for Papua New Guinea on the international mining scene.

A long-standing land dispute between Biangai and Watut tribes over ownership of the 2076 hectare McAdam National Park between Wau and Bulolo came to a head last Friday and Saturday as the Watuts gathered in Wau in their hundreds and staged an early morning attack on the Biangai villages.

Lae Hospital’s emergency ward today (Sunday) confirmed receiving the bodies of two men and admitting two other with shotgun pellet wounds while several others were said to have been treated in Bulolo for pellet wounds.

Bulolo MP Sam Basil, Menyamya MP Benjamin Phililp, provincial administrator Patilias Gamato and police today (Sunday) held crisis meetings with the Watut people in Wau and later moved to Biangai to meet with the local villages.

The Biangai villages around Wau comprise of Wandumi, Kaisenik, Kwembu, Biaweng, Ilauru, Were Were and Winima while the Watut villages stretch all the way from Wau to the border with Menyamya,

A Watut man was allegedly killed recently by Biangais over a gold-bearing piece of land on the national park, which is said to have sparked the tension.

Commander of Bulolo-based police mobile squad (MS) 15 Michael Tilae said that last Friday, the Watuts gathered in Wau town, and in a well co-ordinated dawn raid, attacked Biangai villages all the way to Kaisinik.

He said a 15-year-old paralysed boy was burned alive in a house and an old man was murdered by the Watuts and other opportunists, who numbered more than 1,000.

Mr Tilae said that last Saturday, the Watuts gathered en masse and were trying to advance on Wandumi, when they were halted by police.

“We had reinforcements from Lae and they managed to contain the situation at Wandumi Bridge,” he said.

“The Wandumis shot five Watuts that morning, who were taken to hospital, including one dead.

“Shops are closed, people are not moving around.

“Things are very tense at the moment.”

Mr Tilae said other people took advantage of the situation to converge on the Hidden Valley gold mine.

“We have one mobile squad up at Hidden Valley,” he said.

“There’s a group of Watuts up there demanding things from the company.

“We don’t know what exactly they are demanding.”

A Morobe Mining Joint Venture spokesman said today: “It was just opportunists that were taking matters into their own hands.

“It’s mainly in Wau that the skirmishes are.

“There were those who were looking to get into the mine.

“We beefed up all our security to counter that.

“The situation got volatile last Friday and as a precautionary measure, we had to move the families that were situated in Wau to Lae.

“We’ve secured the entrance to the mine so that only absolutely-essential traffic comes inside the gate.

“I understand that because of the disturbance, and the possibility of opportunists, we’ve just suspended operations for the time being.

“That’s just a precautionary measure.”

 

Christine Anu sings in 'the Haus of Ruth'

During a brief, but moving visit to Haus Ruth during her visit to Papua New Guinea, Australian icon Christine Anu told women and children: "Say it is not ok – I do not appreciate being treated like that, you cannot touch me."
Ms Anu was talking about violence, an issue that affects many communities in PNG.
She said, many times children who witnessed violence in the home ended up being perpetrators of violence themselves but, "it's possible to break the cycle”.
"You can succeed in life. You can say 'this is not what I choose for myself, or my children'. But you must take the stand, and you must believe that you can."
Through its support to the Law & Justice Sector Program's Yumi Lukautim Mosbi, AusAID sponsors three rooms at Haus Ruth for women who experience domestic violence.

Haus Ruth was established in 2003 as a crisis centre for women and children, who can receive counselling during their stay, and get support if they decide to take their cases to court.

Today is World Water Day

INTERNATIONAL WORLD WATER DAY is marked annually on March 22 as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).

The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating March 22, 1993, as the first World Water Day.

Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater to bring focus on the fast depleting water resources.

This year’s global theme is ‘Transboundary Waters –shared water, shared opportunity’.
According to SOPAC –Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission, this year’s Pacific World Water Day regional theme is: “Connecting the Pacific –Shared Waters Shared Opportunities”.

Nurturing the opportunities for cooperation in transboundary water management can help build mutual respect, understanding and trust among countries and promote peace, security and sustainable economic growth.

Transboundary more specifically means waters that cross borders.

This can not only mean across nations but also across our own provincial and local borders like the mighty Fly River and the Sepik River as well as organisation responsibilities.

With shared water and opportunity, comes a shared responsibility; meaning we all have a part to play to ensure future generation of Papua New Guineans have access to clean water and safe sanitation services.

These include national and provincial governments, local level governments, public and private users and the public at large.

Breaking news! Fighting in Wau and Hidden Valley grinds to a halt

Fighting between rival Watut and Biangai village in Wau, Morobe province, Papua New Guinea, since yesterday (Friday) has seen a number of people killed, several injured and housing and other property destroyed.

The Hidden Valley gold mine has also grinded to a halt and its workers evacuated as Watut villagers went to the mine site.

Details are still sketchy, however, Bulolo Mobile 15 police commander Michael Tilae confirmed today that two villagers from Biangai had been killed and five men from Watut were nursing gun wounds.

Bulolo MP Sam Basil and Assistant Police Commissioner Giossi Labi are on their way to Wau to meet with leaders of the warring factions.

 

 

Of doles and joblessness in Papua New Guinea

By ALFREDO P HERNANDEZ of LETTERS FROM PORT MORESBY

 

 ONCE AGAIN, Papua New Guinea is on the threshold of another massive bonanza from one of its natural resources – the rich liquefied natural gas (LNG) deposits which will go on commercial production very soon.

And because of this, a ranking government official was already savoring a scenario in which about three million of the country’s jobless out of the 6.2 million people would be living on the dole in the future, according to a news report yesterday.

However, in today’s edition of The National which reported the story, Minister for Petroleum and Energy William Duma said he has been misquoted by the reporter who was present, as he was speaking to his constituents in Mt Hagen in a dialect not familiar with many Papua New Guineans, including the reporter.

Anyway, anybody who had read yesterday’s report would easily deduce that Duma was anchoring his best hopes on the US$4 billion annual tax revenue that the PNG government would earn from the soon-to-start LNG project located just outside of Port Moresby.

Duma approved the US$7 billion LNG project last May so that the country would earn more revenue for the improvement of the country’s basic services like schools, roads, bridges, hospitals, health care clinics, police services and police housing – things most of the citizens have been deprived of since the country gained independence in September 1975.

The LNG deposit is said to be “the biggest natural gas find of the century anywhere in the Southern Hemisphere or the Asia-Pacific at least for the next 20 years”, according to InterOil Corp, which is sharing ownership with ExxonMobil (Esso Highlands) as operator, Nippon Oil, Santos, AGL and Mineral Resources Development Corp, a government entity.

“Our people should be on the dole,” advocated Duma, who is projecting that each of the jobless three million Papua New Guineans could receive from 100 kina (US$34.40) to K200 (US$68.80) every two weeks (fortnight) in the future, media reports quoted him as saying.

So it goes without saying that if three million people were paid K100 each a fortnight, the amount would be K300 million (K103.2 million) every two weeks or K7.8 billion (US$2.7 billion) a year. This year, the government budget amounted only to K9 billion (US$3 billion).

Obviously, it was the best news ever received by a huge crowd in Mt Hagen, the country’s third rural city where Duma presented his dole-out scenario. It could be assumed that most of those present were jobless and were just relying on their food gardens for daily survival.

The dictionary defines dole as an unemployment benefit paid to jobless citizens by rich and industrialized nations (like Australia) that enjoy stable economies.

Despite its massive natural resources – oil, copper, nickel, gold, timber, tuna, coffee and cocoa, among others – whose respective exploitation/commercial development is now delivering hefty revenues to the government coffers (except for the nickel project which is yet to start operation), PNG has remained on the list of United Nation Human Development Index (HDI) as one of the poorest in the world.

It has been projected that once in full operation, the LNG project could boost the government’s annual budget to K21 billion (US$7.22 billion) from the current year’s budget of only K9 billion; it could take care of a number of infrastructure development and livelihood-generating activities, especially for the rural people.

More than 85% of the citizens who are based in the rural areas live in hand-to-mouth existence as there is not much sustainable farm-based livelihood for most of them. Since most of them don’t have employable skills, they could not find employment in the growing number of industries and businesses particularly in Port Moresby, now a burgeoning city of close to half-million people. So far, there are only 300,000 to 500,000 Papua New Guineans who are gainfully employed.

Although PNG began enjoying economic boom seven years ago, the benefits are just reaching the grassroots in trickle, one reason the influx of rural people into the urban centers like Port Moresby has remained unabated.

Frustrated of being unable to land a sustainable job, a number of them have taken the path of lawlessness, thus giving the city government and the police hierarchy unwanted headaches and the usual day-to-day threats on the lives of city residents, both locals and expatriates.

The rural people could not understand why, despite government’s boasting of hefty annual revenues for its coffers courtesy of the country’s natural wealth and increased annual budget, the things that would give them economic independence – jobs -- have remained elusive.

One perception that continues to persist until now is that corruption is rife in high places of the government, the main culprit why a big portion of public funds for many rural developments could vanish in thin air even before they could reach the intended beneficiaries.

Which is why the country’s attorney-general and justice minister, Dr Allan Marat, has accused his colleagues in government of being “corrupt”.

To his great awe, he learned of how the culprits are siphoning off government funds intended for rural development, and he did not mince words when he told in this week’s session at Parliament how it was being done.

Dr Marat has alleged that some members of Parliament have been setting up companies that would become halfway homes for the huge funds allocated to them, as in pork barrel, to be used in funding rural projects that would help alleviate the lives of their constituents.

He declared: “You have to be serious about corruption in your districts, in your provinces; some of us leaders are guilty of corruption, and we have set up our own personal companies in our districts and provinces to eat up all the funds that are meant for development.”

“This is a clear example of what we leaders sitting here in this very parliament have been doing.”

While Duma is seeing a future where hundred thousands of Papua New Guineans are living off public money in the form of doles, courtesy of politicians who would be enacting a law to make this a reality, the expatriate community in Port Moresby is also entertaining another scenario:

Once the LNG project starts delivering the moolah in 2012, the time when it would begin commercial operation, expect the influx of more foreigners – individuals and multinational companies -- into the country to partake of the country’s windfall.

Many of them would come in illegally, using fake visas, or by overstaying their travel visa, or by crossing the border between Irian Jaya province in Indonesia and PNG.

There’s no doubt that the bubble of corruption would continue to swell because those with easy access to development funds, which could now triple in amount owing to the influx of more dollar revenue from LNG export, would likewise find new ways to skim the milk for their own cups.

And more and more Papua New Guineans – they include would-be-politicians and practicing politicians -- would do everything to become Members of Parliament, because once they get there, they are considered “made” – as long as they know what party to stick it out with. The right party could always lead them to the path of gold, as many MPs have discovered for themselves.

In some ways, the dole-out system may work as a palliative to relieve the day-to-day crunching economic burdens of most of the people, both in the rural areas and urban centers.

But this is also a sure way to encourage laziness and dependency among Papua New Guineans who, most of them if not all, have the penchant for the easy way out. It is a culture nurtured by the “wantok” system (“wantok” loosely means “one dialect”) in which the lone gainfully employed member of a family suffers the misfortune of feeding an entire, easy-going extended family.

 

Email the writer: jarahdz500@online.net.pg

alfredophernandez@thenational.com.pg