Goroka hospital goes one step further in e- health

Captions: 1. Dr Clement Malau officially opens the Goroka hospital’s business resource centre; 2.  Robert Schilt IT Manager, Dr Joseph Apa CEO and Dr Clement Malau

Goroka General Hospital has gone one step further in its e-health programme with the opening of its new business resource centre on Tuesday this week by Health Secretary Dr Clement Malau

This was a momentous occasion for hospital staff, management and the board and a unique opportunity for the hospital to share about its IT achievements over the past 18 months and also how an Open Source Software (OSS) approach can provide long term tangible benefits and savings to the national health system and other hospitals within Papua New Guinea.

The opening of the centre has been 12 months in the planning and finally it happened.

The Health Secretary, CEO’s from each of the Highlands hospitals, senior staff from the Health Department, AUSAID advisors and Goroka Hospital board and management were all present for the occasion.

Hospital chief executive officer Dr Joseph Apa told of how it had saved thousands of kina in computer software costs and should be an example to other hospitals in the country.

He said the decision by the hospital to adopt OSS over Proprietary Software (Microsoft) as part of its strategic direction had already led to considerable savings for the hospital.

“Open Source Operating Systems such as Linux Ubuntu are essentially immune to viruses,” Dr Apa said.

“The hospital has not had one virus incident in the last 12 months.

“What’s really ironic is that none of our Open Source PC’s and laptops actually runs any form of virus protection software.

“By going down the Open Source path we have essentially bypassed the prohibitive costs associated with licensed software such as Microsoft Office and Virus Protection.

“This in itself has saved Goroka General Hospital approximately K60, 000 in setup costs of our new IT Training Centre.

“We have now started the process of investigating Open Source options for an electronic patient records System, something that all hospitals around PNG are desperately needing,  and I am amazed at the rich collection of quality Health Information System (HIS) related applications currently available through the Open Source Community.

“The ultimate objective in introducing electronic information systems at Goroka General Hospital is to provide both management and staff with accurate and timely information that supports and enhances the delivery of an efficient health service to the public of the Eastern Highlands.

“This goal will only be achieved through the provision of efficient, reliable and integrated Health Information Systems that are cost effective.”

 Information Technology manager Robert Schilt emphasised the IT achievements at the hospital, many a first for a public hospital in PNG:

•           Deployment of 60 PC’s and laptops including a Local Area Network (first hospital in PNG);

•           Establishment of a business resource centre (first hospital in PNG);

•           Setting of a training room and course(s) with 100-plus staff trained (first hospital in PNG)

•           Monthly meetings of an IM&T Steering Committee (first hospital in PNG)

•           Hospital website and online health forum www.ggh.org.pg  (first hospital in PNG)

•           Access to the Hinari subscription (first hospital in PNG)

•           Development of an organisational Intranet (first hospital in PNG)

•           Recent media coverage (first hospital in PNG).

The IT team at Goroka General Hospital is more than happy to share their experiences with other PNG Hospitals about to embark upon a similar exercise and can be contacted on info@ggh.org.pg.

 

Beautiful Bulolo

Pictured are some pictures of Bulolo I took just last week.

The first one shows Bulolo MP Sam Basil standing at the  Mumeng Local Level Government (LLG) office at Mumeng along the main Wau-Bulolo Highway from Lae and the second shows Bulolo District Headquarters in the historic, famous and beautiful town of Bulolo.

It’s a great place and has some of the most-breathtaking scenery in Papua New Guinea.

Malum

 

 

 

My four wonderful young children

Above is a picture of my four wonderful young children who have been my source of strength and inspiration since the sudden and untimely death of their mother, Hula, on Easter Sunday this year.

I have three sons and a daughter.

The boys are Malum Junior, Gedi and Keith, and my only daughter is Moasing.

Pictured left to right are Gedi (6), Moasing (4), Malum Jnr (7) and Keith (1).

You can read about the wonderful time we had with Hula in this blog by just clicking on her name in this story.

Malum

ELIASCH REVIEW ON INTERNATIONAL DEFORESTATION PUBLISHED

The international community should enable rainforest countries to halve deforestation by 2020 and make the global forest sector ‘carbon neutral’ by 2030. 

This is the recommendation of an independent report to the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown published yesterday.

The Eliasch Review, ‘Climate Change: Financing Global Forests’, is an independent report commissioned by Mr Brown and led by Johan Eliasch, his Special Representative on Deforestation.

 It provides a comprehensive analysis of the financing and mechanisms needed to support sustainable management of forests and reduce emissions associated with deforestation. 

The Review finds that:

 

•          The international community should aim to support forest nations to halve deforestation by 2020 and make the global forest sector ‘carbon neutral’ by 2030 – i.e. with emissions from forest loss balanced by new forest growth.

•          Reducing emissions from deforestation should be fully included in any post-2012 global climate deal at Copenhagen.

•          National Governments should develop their own strategies to combat deforestation in forest countries, including establishing baselines, targets and effective governance and distribution of finances.

•          In the long term, the forest sector should be included in global carbon markets.

•          Public and private sector funding will be needed in the short to medium term as carbon markets grow.

•          The international community should provide support for capacity building where necessary. Total capacity building costs are estimated at up to $4 billion over 5 years for 40 forest nations.

Mr Eliasch said:

“Saving forests is critical for tackling climate change. Without action on deforestation, avoiding the worst impacts of climate change will be next to impossible, and could lead to additional climate change damages of $1 trillion a year by 2100.

“Including the forest sector in a new global deal could reduce the costs of tackling climate change by up to 50% and therefore achieve deeper cuts in emissions, as well as reducing poverty in some of the world’s poorest areas and protecting biodiversity.

“Deforestation will continue as long as cutting down and burning trees is more economic than preserving them. Access to finance from carbon markets and other funding initiatives will be essential for supporting forest nations to meet this challenge.”

UK Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband welcomed the report:

“Deforestation accounts for almost a fifth of global carbon emissions. I welcome this report’s contribution to the global debate about how we address this. It will help us chart a course to reduce deforestation, help the world’s poorest people and cut carbon emissions.

“I hope it can help the vital process of securing agreement on climate change in Copenhagen.”

UK International Development Secretary, Douglas Alexander said:

“With more than a billion of the poorest people on our planet dependent on forests to provide them with a livelihood, today's report highlights the challenges we face in reconciling the short-term interests of individuals with the global challenge of tackling climate change.”

Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare of Papua New Guinea said:

“Papua New Guinea welcomes the Eliasch Review as it highlights the fundamental role of carbon markets over the medium to long term while emphasizing the need for a comprehensive approach in the shorter term.  Within the context of the current global financial instability, we must urgently identify mitigation strategies that are lower-cost and quickly implementable – reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries offers exactly that potential!  Accordingly, on behalf of the Coalition for Rainforest Nations, we will work closely with Prime Minister Brown to take forward the best ideas from this Review.”

Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno-Ugarte of Costa Rica said:

“The Costa Rica experience supports many of the findings from the Eliasch Review – with dedicated resources, creative institutions and a sound legal framework, deforestation can be reversed and forest cover expanded.  For Costa Rica to be successful towards our goal of carbon neutrality by 2021, we will require international support to scale-up our efforts to conserve existing forests and increase reforestation and restoration activities.  Only through an integrated approach to forestry, can we push back the effects of climate change. Today we have a historical opportunity to make things right and correct the mistakes of the past.”

Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda of Indonesia said:

“As the world acknowledged last year in Bali, we cannot win the battle against climate change unless tropical forests are fully integrated within a post-2012 agreement.  The necessary methodologies and technologies exist.  What remains is capacity building and the mobilization of the necessary international resources.  We look forward to working with the Government of the United Kingdom on the important issues of tropical forestry and climate change.”

Norwegian Minister of the Environment and International Development Erik Solheim said:

“The Norwegian government welcomes the Eliasch Review as an important contribution to the discussion of developing a mechanism for including deforestation and forest degradation in a new climate regime. We look forward to working with Prime Minister Brown, the British government and other partners to take this vital effort forward.”

 

The times they are a'changin' for Bulolo

Captions: 1. Bulolo MP Sam Basil points out the panorama along the Gabensis-Muniau Road. 2. The panorama along the Gabensis-Muniau Road with Markham Valley to the left and Lake Wanam to the right.3. Panoramic view of Mainyanda government station. 4. Upper Watut dancers.

There is a breathtaking view of the Markham Valley, Nadzab Airport and Lake Wanam stretching all the way to Lae along the Gabensis-Muniau Road in Morobe province.

I took the drive along this road, which has been neglected for the last seven years, together with Bulolo MP Sam Basil last Friday and was so taken in by the panorama which unfolded before our eyes.

White cockatoos, hornbills and other birds abound in this forest area surrounded by picturesque hills, rivers and creeks,

“I plan to set up a lookout at this point, together with a barbeque area, where families from Lae can come and relax and have a good time at the weekend,” he says.

“There is so much potential for tourism in this area.”

I visited parts of Bulolo last week with Mr Basil and he showed me so many areas with tourism potential as well some of his projects in his local level government (LLG) areas.

These once-forgotten rural people in the six LLG areas of Buang, Mumeng, Upper Watut, Wau Rural, Waria and Wau/Bulolo Urban now enjoy telephone and Internet services through VSAT, rural electricity, improved health and education services, and good roads.

Indeed, as Bob Dylan sings,’ the times they are a’changin’ for Bulolo

Gabensis is a typical Markham village along the Wau-Bulolo Highway while Muniau is in the Buang LLG of Mr Basil’s Bulolo Electorate.

The people of Buang have suffered for several years because of the state of this road.

They have had to travel all the way to Mumeng and then turn off to Buang instead of having the luxury of this shortcut.

Reconstruction of the road comes under the Bulolo District Road Maintenance Programme initiated by Mr Basil.

“We plan to have this short cut road reconstructed before Christmas so that Buang people from all over the country can go home and spend time with their families,” he says.

“We have advertised and we have got a manager on contract, who is running the project at the moment.

“We have Team A and Team B.

“Team A is in Watut reviving the rural roads there and in November will move to the Wau-Biaru Road.

“If a private contractor ran it, it would cost K130, 000 a month to operate, however, it’s costing us only K30, 000 a month.

“Team B is doing the shortcut from Gabensis to Buang.

“It’s doing gravelling and culverting at the same time.

“If a private contractor was doing the job of Team B, it would cost us K180, 000 a month, however, we’re doing this at K45, 000 a month.

“I’m talking about working eight hours a day, seven days a week.”

At Mumeng LLG Station earlier that day, we watched construction work on two new houses for manager, being built under Bulolo District Building Maintenance Programme.

“The programme has a contracted manager who has a degree in architecture and building,” Mr Basil explains.

“It has Team A and Team B consisting of plumbers, electricians, bricklayers and carpenters with a provision to hire four villagers wherever a project is.

“In the programme, if a school had K100, 000 to build a classroom, be guranteed that 40% of that money will not go to a contractor.

“We maximise that money so instead of building one double classroom, we can build two double classrooms.

“I am delivering services to my electorate using the private sector approach minus the profit factor, therefore, maximise the supposed-to-be-profit for more service rollout.

“When Papua New Guinea gained independence, everyone’s focus was on districts.

“People live in six rural Local Level Government (LLG) areas which are Buang, Mumeng, Upper Watut, Wau Rural, Waria and Wau/Bulolo Urban.

“Wau/Bulolo Urban is where the district administration is, so when previous MPs bought vehicles, they were for the urban areas while the rural areas were neglected.

“This meant that the district chewed up everything while the LLGs suffered.”

Last Thursday, we visited remote Upper Watut LLG where Mr Basil opened a footbridge and a new double classroom, and then delivered a new ambulance at Mainyanda government station.

“I’m putting an ambulance into all LLGs so that they can all have access to this service,” he tells me.

“I’ll be issuing ambulances for the next four weeks.

“And then we have tractors which will have plowers for agricultural use, slashers for cutting grass, grading blade for grading roads and a trailer for carrying coffee bags, gravel and utility use.

“These will be use free of charge for government services while there will be a user-pay policy for private users to cover fuel.

“Remember the 1970’s when government services were so good?

“In those days, stations were alive, clean and well-maintained.

“We want to do the same in the Bulolo electorate now.

“This is the very basic fundamental, which is putting government into the LLGs.

“I’m issuing an ambulance to Upper Watut first, followed by Mumeng, Buang and then Wau Rural.

“Waria doesn’t have a road; therefore, I’m allocating money to build a road first, from Biaru to Garaina.

“For Wau and Bulolo towns, I’ve already given them two garbage trucks to collect rubbish and generate their own revenue.

“In November, they will take delivery of their new grader.

“It will spend a week every month in Wau and Bulolo towns, and then rest for two weeks.”

Rural electrification is another major project with 42 houses already lit up, from the main grid from Baiune, and 10 more houses to follow before the end of this year.

“PNG Power will send in a surveyor upon my request for Sambio village and Bayevaga village,” Mr Basil says.

“The power will come from the main grid from Baiune hydro-electricity in Bulolo.”

And then there’s the marvel of instaneous telephone and Internet communications.

“I’m carrying out a pilot project for telephones,” Mr Basil says.

“We’ve already opened up the Mapos Parish with a VSAT installation.

“There are six lines.

“We are running five lines from the installation vicinity, a few kilometres apart.

“Telephone lines are installed next to shops so shop owners take ownership of it.

“We compensate the shop owners by signing them up as wholesale buyers for Telikads by buying them 10% cheaper.

“Buang is already connected by VSAT, but still to be officially opened.

“Upper Watut, likewise, has already installed VSAT but this is still to be officially opened.

“By 2012, all people in Bulolo electorate will have access to telephone services, via VSAT.

“Telikom PNG can strike us out by 2012, when they are focused on 2020.

“We are embarking on purchasing 15 more units for installation next year at a cost of K1 million.”

What will kill more humans than AIDS, Murder and Suicide Combined?

SMOKING!!

 Check out what smokers are doing to their lungs and the lungs of their loved ones who inhale their second hand smoke. http://www.presmark.com/htmlfile/pictures.htm

 Smoking Fact Sheet

 August 2008

Cigarette smoking has been identified as the most important source of preventable morbidity (disease and illness) and premature mortality (death) worldwide. Smoking-related diseases claim an estimated 438,000 American lives each year, including those affected indirectly, such as babies born prematurely due to prenatal maternal smoking and victims of "secondhand" exposure to tobacco's carcinogens. Smoking cost the United States over $193 billion in 2004, including $97 billion in lost productivity and $96 billion in direct health care expenditures, or an average of $4,260 per adult smoker.¹

• Cigarette smoke contains over 4,800 chemicals, 69 of which are known to cause cancer. Smoking is directly responsible for approximately 90 percent of lung cancer deaths and approximately 80-90 percent of COPD (emphysema and chronic bronchitis) deaths.²
• About 8.6 million people in the U.S. have at least one serious illness caused by smoking. That means that for every person who dies of a smoking-related disease, there are 20 more people who suffer from at least one serious illness associated with smoking.³
• Among current smokers, chronic lung disease accounts for 73 percent of smoking-related conditions. Even among smokers who have quit chronic lung disease accounts for 50 percent of smoking-related conditions.⁴
• The list of diseases caused by smoking includes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema), coronary heart disease, stroke, abdominal aortic aneurysm, acute myeloid leukemia, cataract, pneumonia, periodontitis, and bladder, esophageal, laryngeal, lung, oral, throat, cervical, kidney, stomach, and pancreatic cancers. Smoking is also a major factor in a variety of other conditions and disorders, including slowed healing of wounds, infertility, and peptic ulcer disease.⁵
• Smoking in pregnancy accounts for an estimated 20 to 30 percent of low-birth weight babies, up to 14 percent of preterm deliveries, and some 10 percent of all infant deaths. Even apparently healthy, full-term babies of smokers have been found to be born with narrowed airways and reduced lung function.⁶
• In 2005, 10.7 percent of all women smoked during pregnancy, down almost 45 percent from 1990.⁷
• Neonatal health-care costs attributable to maternal smoking in the U.S. have been estimated at $366 million per year, or $704 per maternal smoker.⁸
• Smoking by parents is also associated with a wide range of adverse effects in their children, including exacerbation of asthma, increased frequency of colds and ear infections, and sudden infant death syndrome. Secondhand smoke causes more than an estimated 202,000 asthma episodes, 790,000 physician visits for buildup of fluid in the middle ear (otitis media, or middle ear infection), and 430 sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) cases each year.⁹
• In 2006, an estimated 45.3 million, or 20.6% of adults (aged 18+) were current smokers. The annual prevalence of smoking declined 40 percent between 1965 and 1990, but has been virtually unchanged since then.¹⁰
• Males tend to have significantly higher rates of smoking prevalence than females. In 2006, 23.6 percent of males currently smoked compared to 17.8 percent of females.¹¹
• Prevalence of current smoking in 2006 was highest among American Indians/Alaska Natives (32.2%), intermediate among non-Hispanic whites (21.8%) and non-Hispanic blacks (22.6%), and lowest among Hispanics (15.1%) and Asians (10.3%).¹²
• As smoking declines among the non-Hispanic white population, tobacco companies have targeted both non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics with intensive merchandising, which includes billboards, advertising in media targeted to those communities, and sponsorship of civic groups and athletic, cultural, and entertainment events. In 2005, advertising and promotion by the five major tobacco companies totaled $13.1 billion.¹³
• Tobacco advertising also plays an important role in encouraging young people to begin a lifelong addiction to smoking before they are old enough to fully understand its long-term health risk.¹⁴ Ninety percent of adults who smoke started by the age of 21, and half of them became regular smokers by their 18th birthday.¹⁵
• In 2007, 20 percent of high school students were current smokers.¹⁶ Over 6 percent of middle school students were current smokers in 2006.¹⁷
• Secondhand smoke involuntarily inhaled by nonsmokers from other people's cigarettes is classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a known human (Group A) carcinogen, responsible for approximately 3,400 lung cancer deaths and 46,000 (ranging 22,700-69,600) heart disease deaths in adult nonsmokers annually in the United States.¹⁸
• Workplaces nationwide are going smoke-free to provide clean indoor air and protect employees from the life-threatening effects of secondhand smoke. Nearly 70 percent of the U.S. workforce worked under a smoke free policy in 1999, but the percentage of workers protected varies by state, ranging from a high of 83.9 percent in Utah and 81.2 percent in Maryland to 48.7 percent in Nevada.¹⁹
• Employers have a legal right to restrict smoking in the workplace, or implement a totally smoke-free workplace policy. Exceptions may arise in the case of collective bargaining agreements with unions.
• Nicotine is an addictive drug, which when inhaled in cigarette smoke reaches the brain faster than drugs that enter the body intravenously. Smokers not only become physically addicted to nicotine; they also link smoking with many social activities, making smoking a difficult habit to break.²⁰
• In 2006, an estimated 45.7 million adults were former smokers. Of the 45.3 million current adult smokers, 44 percent stopped smoking at least 1 day in the preceding year because they were trying to quit smoking completely.²¹
• Quitting smoking often requires multiple attempts. Using counseling or medication alone increases the chance of a quit attempt being successful; the combination of both is even more effective.²²
• Nicotine replacement products can help relieve withdrawal symptoms people experience when they quit smoking.²³
• There are seven medications approved by the FDA to aid in quitting smoking. Nicotine patches, nicotine gum and nicotine lozenges are available over-the-counter, and a nicotine nasal spray and inhaler are currently available by prescription. Buproprion SR (Zyban) and varenicline tartrate (Chantix) are non-nicotine pills.²⁴
• Individual, group and telephone counseling are effective. Telephone quitline counseling is widely available and is effective for many different groups of smokers.²⁵

Nicotine replacement therapies are helpful in quitting when combined with a support program such as the American Lung Association's Freedom From Smoking (FFS), which addresses psychological and behavioral addictions to smoking and strategies for coping with urges to smoke.

 

Sources:

1.       Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Annual Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Years of Potential Life Lost, and Productivity Losses United States, 1997-2001. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report [serial online]. July 2005. Vol. 54; 25:625-628 [cited 2007 Mar 13].

2.       Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Tobacco Information and Prevention Source (TIPS). Tobacco Use in the United States. January 27, 2004.

3.       Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cigarette Smoking Attributable Morbidity - U.S., 2000. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2003 Sept; 52(35): 842-844.

4.       Ibid.

5.       U.S Department of Health and Human Services. Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2004.

6.       U.S Department of Health and Human Services. Women and Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2001.

7.       Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics Reports. Births: Final Data for 2005. December 5, 2007; (56)5.

8.       Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. State Estimates of Neonatal Health-Care Costs Associated with Maternal Smoking U.S. , 1996. Vol. 53, No. 39, October 8, 2004.

9.       California Environmental Protection Agency. Proposed Identification of Environmental Tobacco Smoke as a Toxic Air Contaminant. June 2005.

10.   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview Survey, 2006. Analysis by the American Lung Association, Research and Program Services Division using SPSS and SUDAAN software.

11.   Ibid.

12.   Ibid.

13.   U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Cigarette Report for 2004 and 2005. April 2007. Accessed on February 8, 2008.

14.   U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Preventing Tobacco Use among Young People: A Report of the Surgeon General, 1994.

15.   Mowery PD, Brick PD, Farrelly MC. Legacy First Look Report 3. Pathways to Established Smoking: Results from the 1999 National Youth Tobacco Survey. Washington DC: American Legacy Foundation. October 2000.

16.   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance � United States, 2007. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. June 6, 2008; 57(SS-04).

17.   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Office on Smoking and Health. National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS). 2006 NYTS Data and Documentation. April 18, 2008. Accessed on April 30, 2008.

18.   California Environmental Protection Agency. Health Effects of Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke. June 2005. Accessed on 4/30/07.

19.   Shopland DR, Gerlach KK, Burns DM, Hartman AM, Gibson JT. State-Specific Trends in Smokefree Workplace Policy Coverage: the Current Population Tobacco Use Supplement, 1993 to 1999. J Occup Environ Med 2001; 43:680-686.

20.   National Institute of Drug Abuse. Research Report on Nicotine: Addiction, August 2001.

21.   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview Survey, 2006. Analysis by the American Lung Association, Research and Program Services Division using SPSS and SUDAAN software.

22.   Fiore MC, Jaen CR, Baker TB, et al. Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update. Clinical Practice Guideline. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Public Health Service. May 2008.

23.   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smoking and Tobacco Use. You Can Quit Smoking. Accessed on October 2, 2007.

24.   Fiore MC, Jaen CR, Baker TB, et al. Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update. Clinical Practice Guideline. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Public Health Service. May 2008.

25.   Ibid.

*Racial and ethnic minority terminology reflects those terms used by the Centers For Disease Control.

View American Lung Association Nationwide Research Awardees for 2008-2009

InterOil's financials "on track"

PORT MORESBY: InterOil has announced it is “on track” to meet projected earnings for the third quarter of 2008, despite the current international economic situation.

Chief Financial Officer Collin Visaggio said the company’s refining and distribution operations have continued to perform positively.

 “These segments of our business are returning in line with our profit expectations”.

Mr. Visaggio said InterOil would be filing its third quarter financials on or soon after November the 10^th.

“I am pleased to advise that to date we have weathered the recent economic downturn through a series of prudent management and control procedures”, he said.

The announcement comes as InterOil prepares for the next phase of its exploration programme in the Gulf Province.

Drilling is scheduled to commence at a new site called Antelope-1.

The rig, support equipment and buildings are being transported into the area and a team of drilling specialists and geologists will; shortly be on site.

Antelope-1 is located just two-and-a-half kilometres from the successful Elk-4 discovery well where a major gas strike was made three months ago.

During tests, Elk-4 returned a gas flow rate of 105-million cubic feet per day, the largest gas flow rate of all time in Papua New Guinea.

InterOil says it also has high hopes for Antelope-1.

 

For further in formation please contact

Susuve Laumaea

Senior Manager

Media Relations & Public Affairs

InterOil Corporation

Ph: 321 7040 - Mobile: 684 5168

Email: susuve.laumaea@interoil.com