New global information forum for agricultural development

By SENIORL ANZU of NARI, who attended the meeting in Bangkok, Thailand

The accession and sharing of agricultural information will increase globally as a result of greater participation in a new information management and sharing platform developed by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations.

 This new initiative, Coherence in Information for Agricultural Research for Development (CIARD), is an online database information management system that is aimed at creating a one-stop forum for different agricultural information systems that are currently available from different organisations throughout the world.

More than 30 professionals in information and communication from 20 countries in the Asia Pacific region were introduced to the new system last week in Bangkok, Thailand.

The countries were introduced to the forum through a workshop organised by the Asia-Pacific association of agricultural research institutions (APAARI), as a regional forum, which has been promoting the use and application of information communication technology/information communication management (ICT/ICM) in agricultural research for development (AR4D) in the region through its programme ‘Asia-Pacific agricultural research information system (APARIS)’. APARIS is closely associated with the Rome-based global forum for agricultural research (GFAR) and FAO on such innovations for agricultural development.   

The initiative is currently available online (www.ciard.net).

To contribute, access and learn from the different databases and systems worldwide, organisations can log on the site and register to participate in this exciting innovation which comprises national, regional and international ICT/ICM developments across the globe.

The Pacific region was represented by Papua New Guinea (National Agriculture Research Institute), Fiji (Ministry of Agriculture) and Samoa (Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries).

According to APAARI, the workshop was to assist the member national agricultural research systems (NARS) with new capacities for better agricultural information management through revitalising APARIS activities and through which strengthening global ICM4ARD initiatives to improve effective use of information by all stakeholders for Agricultural Research for oDevelopment (ARD) in the region and the world over.

The main objective of the workshop was to orient participants to CIARD initiative and equip them to contribute to the CIARD roadmap to information nodes and gateways (CIARD RING). It was also to orient participants to the potential opportunities of new ICT/ICM for AR4D in the areas of research, extension, marketing and agri-business, and identify mechanisms to strengthen Asia-Pacific APARIS for efficient exchange of data, knowledge and technologies in the region and present the status of ICT/ICM in AR4D in the region.

The major outcomes include:

·        Increasing the awareness on new ICT/ICM initiatives among information and communication managers of national agricultural information Systems (NAIS);

·        Promotion of the CIARD initiative, capacity building for NAIS in the Asia-Pacific region to contribute to the CIARD initiative, and registration of NAIS services in the CIARD RING; and

·        Mechanisms for strengthening APARIS to undertake better advocacy, networking, partnerships and human and institutional capacity strengthening programmes in the region and a status report on ICT/ICM in AR4D in the Asia-Pacific Region.

The three-day workshop, which ended on Sept 17, was staged at the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok.

PNG was invited by FAO to register and be part of the new CIARD RING and benefit from it.

Assistance in Hidden Valley gold mining environmental issues

By DR GAE GOWAE

 

Thank you Robin for your well-received views and offer to assist.

 Indeed the political insinuation is there, but regardless of who provides the financial support, the scientific nature and the credibility of the findings are what we need. This is why either by outside consultants or Morobe elites, the appropriate technical expertise and experience is needed to undertake this study.

 The cost for such study is enormous, and political support either through Tutumang (Morobe provincial assembly) or individual MPs is required, as long as the report of the findings is credible and transparent; whatever political achievement is up to the people's judgement.

 The idea of us Morobe elites assisting is to do it at reduced cost, particularly to cut down on the consultant fees.

 The report by Mr Michael Kiap is worth accessing, but interestingly, why were such findings never publicized?

 However, given the recent problems as seen on the TV and the circulation of the video clips of the area, it is worth untaking an independent study to ascertain all those allegations.

 Your suggestion of Tutumang submission for financial support is well taken and in fact I have already suggested the idea to landowners’ association interim president, which requires the local level government presidents' support and endorsement.

This too will required technical expertise advice and assistance in putting together the submission.

 I have Ms Finkewe Zurenuoc, who has enormous experience in mining industry, already offering her assistance and you in hydrology, which is great.

We need a few more and then we can look at logistic support to get together and plan this study including the costing.

 

Kind regards,

 

G.Gowae

 

Antelope-2 horizontal drill steam test #7 confirms stabilised condensate to gas ratio at 24-27 BBLS/MMCF

Cairns, Australia and Houston, TX -- September 28, 2010 -- InterOil Corporation (NYSE: IOC) (POMSoX: IOC) today announced that during stabilised flow from drill stem test (DST) #7 at the Antelope-2 Horizontal 2A well in Papua New Guinea, the well flowed gas at rates between 2.5 to 4.5 million cubic feet of natural gas per day (MMcfd) through various choke sizes with limited formation water produced. 

A stabilised condensate-to-gas ratio (CGR) of approximately 24-27.7 barrels of condensate per million cubic feet of natural gas (Bbls/MMcf) was measured on both a 32/64 and 22/64 inch choke. 

This is approximately a 60% increase in CGR from DST #1 which was performed at the top of the reservoir and reported on October 14, 2009 at 16.5 Bbls/MMcf.  DST #7 was conducted over a 355 foot horizontal interval from 9,357 feet (2,852 meters) to 9,712 feet (2,960 meters) total measured depth, at a true vertical depth (TVD) of 7,743 feet (2,360 meters).

Formation evaluation logs from the entire Antelope-2 Horizontal-2A well were obtained over the total measured depth (TMD) interval of 1,719 feet from 7,937 feet (2,419 meters) to 9,656 feet (2,943 meters) and indicate 99% limestone and dolomite with an average porosity of 10% through the pay intervals.

 The extensive data gathering process has been successfully completed at the Antelope-2 well and subsequent horizontal laterals.

 The forward plan is to continue subsurface analysis of the reservoir while preparing the well for long-term production.

About InterOil

InterOil Corporation is developing a vertically integrated energy business whose primary focus is Papua New Guinea and the surrounding region.  InterOil’s assets consist of petroleum licenses covering about 3.9 million acres, an oil refinery, and retail and commercial distribution facilities, all located in Papua New Guinea.  In addition, InterOil is a shareholder in a joint venture established to construct an LNG plant on a site adjacent to InterOil’s refinery in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

InterOil’s common shares trade on the NYSE in US dollars. 

 

InterOil to partner with Energy World to construct a two MTPA land-based LNG plant

Cairns, Australia and Houston, TX -- September 28, 2010 -- InterOil Corporation (NYSE: IOC) (POMSoX: IOC) today announced that InterOil and Liquid Niugini Gas Ltd., its Joint-Venture liquefied natural gas project company with Pacific LNG Operations Ltd., have signed a binding Heads Of Agreement (HOA) with Energy World Corporation Ltd. (AX: EWC) to construct a two million tonne per annum (mtpa) land-based LNG plant in the Gulf Province of Papua New Guinea (PNG). 

The Train 1 LNG plant would process an estimated 1.5 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas over 15 years with early stage capital expenditure estimates amounting to US$455 per metric tonne of LNG production.

 In return for its commitment to fully fund the plant, the HOA provides that EWC is to be entitled to a fee of 14.5% of the proceeds from the sale of LNG from the plant, less agreed deductions, and subject to adjustments based on timing and execution. 

The HOA sets out the major terms and conditions which the parties intend to include in the Train 1 Funding and Shareholder’s Agreements, as well as a potential expansion of the plant’s capacity from 2 mtpa to 3 mtpa.

The HOA with EWC for the development of a mid-sized LNG plant is an opportunity to enhance the proposed condensate stripping plant (CSP) being pursued in joint venture with Mitsui and accelerate the intended monetization of the Elk and Antelope resource.

Infrastructure required for the LNG project includes a jetty and breakwater for the LNG loading facility with expansion potential, and approximately 50 mile (80 Km) pipeline from the Elk and Antelope fields to the coast.

The wells and processed natural gas pipeline from the CSP to the coast in the Gulf Province will be the responsibility of the owners of the Elk and Antelope fields, including InterOil and its upstream partners.

Definitive agreements are under negotiation with a view to being finalised by the end of December 2010, assuming completion of engineering and design work, financing and shareholder agreements with EWC, and further regulatory approvals. 

The current schedule aims for these LNG facilities to be operational by late-2013, hoped to coincide with the start-up of the proposed CSP joint venture with Mitsui.

 

About InterOil

InterOil Corporation is developing a vertically integrated energy business whose primary focus is Papua New Guinea and the surrounding region.  InterOil’s assets consist of petroleum licenses covering about 3.9 million acres, an oil refinery, and retail and commercial distribution facilities, all located in Papua New Guinea.  In addition, InterOil is a shareholder in a joint venture established to construct an LNG plant on a site adjacent to InterOil’s refinery in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

InterOil’s common shares trade on the NYSE in US dollars. 

 

About Energy World Corporation Ltd.

Energy World Corporation Ltd (EWC) is an integrated energy company based in Hong Kong and listed in Australia and New Zealand. EWC has primary gas and power operations located at Sengkang, South Sulawesi in Indonesia; and also produces gas, power and was the first producer of domestic LNG in Australia.  The LNG construction partners with EWC for the LNG Train 1 are: Siemens A.G., Chart Industries, Gas Technique of France, and ARUP on Civil Engineering. Energy World Corporation Ltd.’s ordinary shares trade on the Australian Exchange under the symbol EWC.

 

Watut River issue a sensitive one

From ROBIN YALAMBING

 

The environment issue regarding Watut River system is a very-sensitive one that needs to be handled very carefully. 

I support the idea to have a study done to determine if the new mine is actually causing health problems to our people living along the river, however,  it is important that proper professional studies and investigation be carried out with the findings made without bias or influenced by local politics. 

This will call for the undivided support of the governor Wenge and the member for Bulolo Mr Basil.

They should put real money into this study for the interest of the people whose lives may be at greater risk than we assume. 

You need the full endorsement of the Morobe Provincial Government (Tutumang) and Bulolo district joint district planning and budget priorities committee (JDPC) to carry out this study so that it is official and recognised.

Doing it on a volunteer basis can be a big effort and demanding and can become frustrating if support is not given from our leaders.

For you information, I come from Latep village which is situated some 20km downstream from Hidden Valley gold and dependent on Watut river for washing, fishing and mining.

Some years back, in early 2000, a lecturer at Unitech by the name of Michael Kiap, a chemist by profession, carried out some studies on the effects of mercury on the lives of small alluvial miners along the Watut River and I think Bulolo River as well.

From what I was told by him, large amounts of mercury were present in bodies of some men who had come in constant contact with this metal during the course of their mining activities.

One actually died in my village.

Now that should give you something to begin with.

You could start at Unitech analysis lab as I believe Michael's data will be there in the records.

 For the hydrology study, I can help you there, but I will need time and that is a problem for me as at present, I am based in Sydney but come and go for short-term jobs here in PNG.

 I wish you all the best endeavor in this important task.

 

Watut River communities want answers about Hidden Valley mine pollution

By MALUM NALU

Minister for Environment and Conservation Benny Allan and his secretary Dr Wari Iamo have been asked to explain to mining-affected communities along the Watut River of Morobe province to explain how the environment audit of Hidden Valley Mine will be conducted.

The Union of Watut River Communities (UoWRC) said the river people had patiently waited for the minister’s commitment to fufil but nothing had eventuated.

“The UoWRC has also blamed the Mineral Resources Authority (MRA), Department of Mining and the Health Department for ignoring the suffering of the silent majority by allowing the foreign-owned Harmony Gold and Newcrest Mining to regulate their own action in the Hidden Valley Mining,” said UoWRC president Reuben Mete.

“The UoWRC has now served a 14-day notice starting Friday, Sept 24 to Friday, Oct 8, for the authorities to respond favorably to their request of having an initial collaborative dialogue as soon as possible or they would refrain from working with the government and will address the issues their own way.”

In a letter to Allan dated Sept 20, 2010, Mete said their disappointments were well-echoed by Harmony chief executive Graham Briggs on Oct 26, 2009, admitting that “higher-than-expected sediment impacts in the Watut River had affected the Watut River communities”.

“The Hidden Valley Gold Mining Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) approved by your department, which predicted that sediment load in the Watut River during construction will be of minimum, is now of great concern for the riverine communities who entirely rely on the Watut River,” he said.

“This now leads us to question the credibility of the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) and the manner in which they have taken in the issuing of the environmental permit to the Hidden Valley Gold Mine for construction and operation.

“The issuing of the environmental permit by the DEC and mining license (ML) 151 by the Department of Mining granted in March 2005, eight months before the actual approval of the environmental management plan (EMP) by the DEC in Nov 2005 indicated that the DEC has issued the riverine communities with a ‘death warrant’.”

Mete told Allan that a letter to UoWRC by his department dated Oct 1, 2009, assured the Watut River communities that a state team comprising DEC and MRA would review all their claims as per their petition dated Sept 11, 2009.

He said DEC and MRA said they would advise on ways which the government could address their concerns both currently and into the future “which has now been a completely-misleading assurance to us as to this date, nothing constructive by your department nor the MRA or the so called ‘state team’ have materialised”.

“Also, lack of detailed response provided to the Watut river communities within the available 12-month period timeframe, lack of reviews and/or investigation of all of our allegations as per the initial petition last September, reflect how your department and the other relevant government agencies have turned a blind eye on us, the rural people at the bottom in this matter, to amicably address it,” Mete said.

“In addition to this, an environmental audit commission by your department to review the environmental performance of Hidden Valley Mine and investigate those concerns raised on the effects of mine-derived sediment awarded to the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation (SMEC) on Watut River systems is now a wonder to us as we are now into six months past the set date of Feb 22, 2010.

“We would therefore appreciate if your department and other relevant government agencies such as the Department of Mining and MRA could hold an initial collaborative dialogue with us, the UoWRC executives, as soon as possible to find a common way to resolve our concerns within 14 days given period.

“A joint attention through dialogue and understanding is needed as the Watut River communities cannot be patient and be cooperative after the given date.”

VComms secures contract with Papua New Guinea's National Fisheries Authority

Major Milestone Reached For Provision of integrated VMS and Inmarsat services
  

27th September 2010 – VComms, a subsidiary of SatComms, a leading provider of integrated satellite communication solutions based in Australia, has been selected by the National Fisheries Authority (NFA) of Papua New Guinea to provide a specialist turn-key integrated Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) for fisheries management under a multi-year agreement.

 The VMS includes the provision of Inmarsat airtime via the Inmarsat C platform. Phase one implementation will include approximately 500 fisheries vessels, with considerable expansion and system evolution planned for 2011.

 This announcement could not be more timely as priority monitoring, control and surveillance are all key issues for this year's technical and compliance committee being held by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission in Pohnpei, the Federated States of Micronesia on 30th September to 5th October.

 Sylvester Pokajam, managing director of the National Fisheries Authority said: "This is a major landmark for both the NFA and Papua New Guinea.  We have invested in world-class technical and operational infrastructure to take fisheries management to new heights in the Pacific, with a company that has a proven commitment to the local and regional fisheries sector. We also feel that the benefits of the system could be utilised by other Pacific countries who may be watching our implementation"

 The implementation marks a number of 'firsts' for PNG and the Pacific VMS community, particularly integration of vessel monitoring data with the NFA's own vessel licensing database. The NFA will now be able to monitor and control commercial fishing operations from one platform which will improve stock sustainability within PNG waters and beyond. As the heart of the control infrastructure is based in PNG, this fully-scalable system is ideally placed to assist other Pacific-based fisheries to implement an enhanced VMS system.

 Andrew Burdall, managing director of VComms & SatComms said: "The NFA has always been a VMS authority at the cutting edge of new technologies. Our solution, which includes software, software maintenance and an airtime package, will improve the detection of illegal fishing by speeding up the validation of vessel position data against licensing records.   For the first time, this VMS authority can see both the location and behaviour of the vessel. It can   establish immediately if the vessel has a licence and the details of that licence status in real time via Inmarsat, so the vessel is tracked with the specific fishery. The cost savings of a service that is designed to stop illegal fishing prospering in PNG waters are considerable."
Continues Burdall: "The VComms operation is our commitment to PNG and the Pacific community to deliver world-class solutions in co-operation with forward thinking authorities, such as NFA, and we are proud to be chosen as their ongoing supplier for VMS services."

 David Klaris, VMS manager for the National Fisheries Authority, said: "Operationally this is a much more-advanced platform than the one it replaces, as it now allows us to both monitor vessels within the fishery and automatically cross-reference this with their licensing status, therefore increasing efficiency substantially. We have also had the system designed with new levels of operational and data redundancy already built in."

 The VMS system is fully-scalable and operationally-redundant in terms of both communication and security functionality. It is designed to meet the highest demands of government-level regulatory control, with sophisticated automatic archiving technology to ensure data security and integrity at all times.

 Perry Melton, chief operating officer of Inmarsat, said: "Inmarsat C is utilised by the majority of the world's fishing organisations for the purpose of fishing management and protection. We are delighted to see how our partner, VComms, a subsidiary of SatComms Australia, is continuing to innovate with this technology to ensure the safety and security of fisheries in the Pacific.  VMS ensures that illegal fishing cannot prosper in PNG water."

 Piers Cunningham, commercial director of SatComms & VComms said:  "We are extremely pleased that our investment in establishing a solid operational and technical presence in Papua New Guinea has been recognised, and that we have been given an opportunity to deliver a cutting-edge integrated solution for NFA. The resilience of the Inmarsat network, combined with state-of-the–art technical infrastructure allows VComms to provide the NFA with a fisheries management system that is world-class."