InterOil and Noble sign heads of agreement for LNG sale

InterOil Corporation and Pacific LNG Operations Ltd, joint developers of Gulf LNG in Papua New Guinea's Gulf of Papua have announced the signing of a heads of agreement (HOA) with Noble Clean Fuels Ltd , a wholly-owned subsidiary of Noble Group Ltd, for the supply of one million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The HOA sets out the basis upon which the parties intend to conclude terms for the purchase and sale of one mtpa of LNG, for a period of 10 years commencing in 2014, to be supplied by the proposed Gulf LNG project in PNG.

The parties to the HOA intend to complete negotiations and execute binding agreements later this year.

A   Singapore stock exchange listed company, Noble Group is a market leader and manages a global supply chain of agricultural and energy products, metals and minerals.

Noble operates from over 120 offices in 40 countries, with over 11,000 employees from 80 nationalities and manages a diversified portfolio of essential raw materials, integrating sourcing, marketing, processing, financing and transportation.

Noble owns and manages an array of strategic assets, sourcing from low cost producers such as Brazil, Argentina, Australia and Indonesia and supplying to high growth demand markets including China, India and the Middle East.

At present, Noble has interests in grain crushing facilities, coal and iron ore mines, fuel terminals and storage facilities, sugar and ethanol plants, ports, vessels and other key infrastructure.

The Gulf LNG project comprises the Elk and Antelope gas fields and Liquid Niugini Gas Ltd., the InterOil and Pacific LNG joint-venture project company, with modular LNG plants contracted with Energy World Corp Ltd and a fixed floating LNG facility being developed with Flex LNG Ltd and Samsung Heavy Industries Co Ltd.

 InterOil's chairman and CEO Phil Mulacek said: "We are pleased to have executed our first HOA for LNG off-take from our Gulf LNG project in Papua New Guinea. "InterOil is proud to work with the Noble Group, which has a proven track record of providing long-term fuel supply to major utilities across Japan, Korea, China, and Asia as a whole."

Liquid Niugini Gas vice-president for LNG marketing, Conrad Kerr said: "Noble is a good fit for the InterOil strategy of mid-scale and modular production, and LNG supply is a natural expansion of the Noble Group's historical relationships in long-term coal supply for power generation."

Sir Rabbie Namaliu to advise InterOil's Gulf LNG project

Former Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Sir Rabbie Namaliu has accepted InterOil Corporation's invitation to chair its PNG advisory board.

Accepting the invitation, Sir Rabbie said: "I am pleased to chair InterOil's PNG advisory board, and look forward to working to bring the Gulf LNG project to fruition.

"The Gulf LNG project may be the most-significant source of revenue to the PNG Government over the next 30 years.

"It will bring jobs and infrastructure to one of our least-developed provinces and generate benefits to all the people of Papua New Guinea for many years."

 Welcoming Sir Rabbie's acceptance, InterOil's CEO Phil Mulacek said Sir Rabbie had been an inspiration and a dedicated servant to PNG for his entire career.

 "We welcome him to our team and appreciate his support for our Gulf LNG project," Mulacek said.            

 Sir Rabbie served as PNG prime minister between 1988 and 1992. He was Speaker of the National Parliament between 1994 and 1997.

 He was also Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade from 1982 to 1984 and other senior ministries he has held include Primary Industry and Petroleum and Energy since his first election to parliament in 1982.

 Most recently, Sir Rabbie served as Foreign Affairs & Immigration Minister from 2002 to 2006 and as Minister for the Treasury from 2006 to 2007. Sir Rabbie left Parliament in 2007.

 Sir Rabbie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of PNG and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the same university.

 The InterOil PNG advisory board is a management group being formed to assist InterOil in discussions with government departments in developing the Gulf LNG project.

Bonga, Kaiwi seek orders to nullify election process

 By JULIA DAIA BORE

TWO separate Supreme Court references have been filed at the Waigani Supreme Court on last week's parliamentary election process and the change of government, The National reports.
The two urgent references were filed last Friday and are expected to be heard this morning by the chief justice. 
One reference is by Morobe province's Nawaeb MP Timothy Bonga and National Alliance party president Simon Kaiwi basing their case on section 18 of the Constitution. 
Bonga was the then NA-government's forestry minister and Kaiwi was ousted as NA party president. 
The respondents are listed as Prime Minister Peter O'Neill, his deputy Belden Namah, William Duma as the new minister for petroleum and energy and labour, Sam Basil as the national planning minister and Dr Allan Marat as the new justice minister and attorney-general. 
Bonga and Kaiwi are seeking certain declaratory orders to nullify the election process of the national parliament last Tuesday. 
They are arguing that there was no vacancy in the prime minister's office for such a vote to be called and that the vote should have been conducted on Wednesday. 
They argued that under section 142 of the Constitution, Sir Michael Somare was still the prime minister who was granted leave of absence on medical grounds under section 104 of the Constitution. 
The leave was granted in May this year.
The other reference was filed under section 19 of the Constitution by East Sepik Governor Peter Wararu and the East Sepik provincial executive government. 
It seeks a similar Supreme Court reference as Sir Arnold Amet did last week but was dismissed because he did not have any constitutional standing to file such an application. 
But the East Sepik provincial executive is now using the same grounds on the question on validity under the country's laws.
The East Sepik provincial executive government headed by Wararu resolved last Thursday to make this referral to the Supreme Court. 
Counsel for the applicant, Steels Lawyers, said the ESP executive has the legal standing to apply for such a reference.

Court dismisses Abal’s case

 By SAMUEL RAITANO

WABAG MP Sam Abal's­ fight in the Waigani National Court to restrain Prime Minister Peter O'Neill from exercising his powers was dismissed last Friday, The National reports.
The ruling was made after the court found that the orders sought by the plaintiff would only add to the constitutional crisis and crumble the parliament and the state. 
It found that constitutional provisions under section 142 used to raise the questions on the vacancy was contradicted by Abal himself when he had taken part in the election process of O'Neill last Tuesday. 
It was pointed out that Abal, in remaining in parliament and ta­king part in voting in his capacity as the (then) acting prime minister, indicated that the prime minister's post was vacant when he had had the opportunity to walk out. 
The ruling was deli­vered after 5pm on the same day because Abal's lawyer Davis Stevens, from Stevens Lawyers, had made a request that the orders sought were urgent. 
Presiding Judge Les Gavara-Nanu made the ruling after adjourning the court twice during the hearing. 
The first adjournment was for lawyers to sort out a confusion when Kelly Naru from Naru Lawyers explained his appearance at the bar table was to represent a party that intended to be the third defendant. 
The first and second defendants were speaker Jeffery Nape and O'Neill. 
The third party was the clerk of the parliament. 
When court resumed, lawyers, Stevens, Manuel Varitimos and Naru sat before the judge together after having had their discussions. 
The arguments raised by Stevens were that the confusion on the vacancy of the prime minister's post needed time for legal analysis and wanted  injunctive orders and declarations to be made on the powers vested in the prime minister and the speaker from being exercised. 
These included the appointment and swearing in of ministers, and any other responsibilities of O'Neill as prime minister. 
Steven sought orders to restrain the parliament clerk and servants of the parliament from carrying out instructions from either O'Neill or Nape. 
The orders sought went as far as to restrain the government printer from publishing the gazetting of the ministers appointed by O'Neill. 
Varitimos argued that his clients followed the normal parliamentary procedure to have the new government in place. 
He said the orders sought by Abal were ridiculous because the head of state had accepted the election as valid and had sworn-in the new prime minister. 
He highlighted the fact that Sir Michael Somare should have been the plaintiff because the prime minister's post was his and not Abal's to fight over. 
Varitimos said the orders sought by Abal would paralyse parliament because ministers had already been appointed by the new prime minister, sworn-in by the governor-general and published in the national gazette. 
Gavara-Nanu stressed that the office of the prime minister, speaker and the function of parliament could not be held to ransom due to a fight over power. 
Gavara-Nanu said if the prime minister, speaker and clerk of parliament were restrained from doing their duties, the nation would be held to undue ransom. 
He said there was no guarantee when the argument over the vacancy would come to an end and he was not convinced by the application.
Gavara-Nanu said the appointments by the governor-general as head of state would be made unconstitutional if the court entertained Abal's application. 
He pointed out that some NA members who broke away from the Somare-Abal government had been appointed and sworn-in as ministers in the new government in which numerical strength and stalwartness promised more chaos in parliament.
Abal's application was thus dismissed.

Abal refuses to join NA caucus meeting in Minj

  MEMBER for Wabag Sam Abal said last night he and his group will not join the National Alliance camp in Minj for its caucus meeting, The National reports.
He said, firstly, he had a matter before the courts contesting last week's election of Peter O'Neill in parliament, which will be heard today.
Abal, who was removed as acting prime minister last Tuesday, also said the party was split by last week's action in parliament and needed to come together before any issue of leadership of the party or any other matter could be discussed.
"The party is split. One side cannot go ahead and decide on the leadership or any other matter. 
"The priority is for the party to come together and, then, we can decide as a party on the leadership and any other matters."
The meeting proper would begin today. 
It was reported that 17 NA members of parliament were present at the dinner last night.

Sepik MPs cry foul over cabinet jobs

 THREE Sepik members of parliament have claim­ed that the new go­vern­ment of Peter O'Neill has overlooked them for mi­nisterial portfolios, The National reports.
The two members, who defected to the op­position camp, were the member for Wosera-Gawi Ronald Asik and member for Wewak Dr Moses Manwau. 
Asik defected to the opposition a week before the change of government while Manwau was behind the move to change government.
The other member is Telefomin MP Peter 
Iwei, who defected to the opposition with Belden Namah during the March Girls move to topple the Somare-led National Alliance go­vernment.
The two East Sepik MPs said their people had not been represented in cabinet although it was a difficult decision to cross the floor from a previous government that was controlled by Sepiks.
Morobe and Western Highlands have four ministers, followed by Eastern Highlands with three and Bougainville, Chimbu, Southern Highlands, Central, NCD, Milne Bay and New Ireland with two each. 
The other eight provinces have one ministry each while the other province that missed out is West New Britain.
"This is not a fair distribution of ministries as the Sepiks have not been represented. 
"The same people on the other side have come again to control government. There is no difference in the new government," they said.
Manwau said he was frustrated because the people of East Sepik did not have representation in cabinet.

Probable O’Neill-Namah cabinet

 WHILE all who were named ministers were sworn in last week, Prime Minister Peter O'Neill is yet to officially name their portfolios, The National reports.
The following is the most probable cabinet line-up based on unofficial information.
The full line-up would be announced today.
Peter O'Neill – Prime Minister
Belden Namah – Deputy Prime Minister; Forestry and Climate Change
Don Polye – Treasury and Finance
William Duma – Petroleum and Energy
Sam Basil – National Planning
Moses Maladina – Implementation and Rural Development
Francis Awesa – Works and Transport
Bart Philemon – Public Service
Sir Puka Temu – Agriculture
Sir Mekere Morauta – State Enterprises
Dr Allan Marat – Attorney-General and Justice
John Boito – Internal Security
Guma Wau – Defence
Sai Sailon Beseo – Correctional Services
Job Pomat – Fisheries
Ano Pala – Foreign Affairs and Immigration
Theo Zurenuoc – Education
Sali Subam – Sports
Martin Aini – Labour and Industrial Relations
Byron Chan – Mining
Charles Abel – Trade; Commerce and Industry
Jim Miringtoro – Communication and Information
Steven Kama – Bougainville Affairs
Andrew Mald – Community Development; Religion and Family Affairs
Mark Maipakai – Government Relations and District Development
David Arore – Higher Education
Thompson Harokaqveh – Environment and Conservation
Puri Ruing – Civil Aviation
Lucas Dekena – Lands and Physical Planning
Jamie Maxtone-Graham – Health and HIV/AIDS
Ken Fairweather – Housing and Urbanisation
Wake Goi – Minister assisting the Prime Minster on Constitutional Matters.
Benjamin Philip – Minister without portfolio