BSP improves its credit rating in 2012

The chairman of the BSP Group, Kostas Constantinou, has announced that Standard & Poors (S&P) has improved its assessment of BSP.

S&P, in its report released on November 1, 2012, indicated that it had revised its long-term issuer credit rating outlook for Bank of South Pacific Ltd from negative to stable.

At the same time, it affirmed its 'B+' long-term and "B" short term ratings outlook on the bank

The upgraded BSP assessment follows a review of PNG’s sovereign rating.

 Following the general elections and the formation of a new government in August, S&P has noted an "improved political setting".

Constantinou said that BSP Group was encouraged by this positive re-assessment of the group’s credit rating.         

 “BSP is committed to maintaining its enhanced credit profile, and its strong business position in PNG and across the Pacific region,” he said.

Mystery illness hits villages on PNG-Ausralia border

By Stefan Armbruster

Fly River women (Samson Jubi)

Women have reportedly died from what's described as "abnormal bleeding" in villages on the Fly River in PNG, just across the border with Australia.
A number of women have reportedly died from what's being described as "abnormal bleeding" in villages on the Fly River in Papua New Guinea, just across the international border from Australia.
PNG's Health Minister and other MPs from the region have raised concerns over it.
They're pointing at pollution from BHP's former Ok Tedi gold and copper mine as a possible culprit.
The Ok Tedi Development Foundation has issued a statement saying it is aware of the issue and is taking steps to address it, without confirming the mine is the cause.
After a high-profile environment movement campaign in the 1990s, BHP reached an out-of-court compensation deal with Fly River villagers for polluting the Fly and also secured legal indemnity from further damages.
Community worker Nareme Makai from the Manawete Trust told Stefan Armbruster the villagers need urgent medical help.

PNG cabinet approves InterOil's Gulf LNG project

InterOil

 InterOil Corporation is pleased to have been notified by the Prime Minister Peter O'Neill that the National Executive Council (NEC) of Papua New Guinea has approved InterOil's LNG development project in the Gulf Province. The decision clears the way to proceed with our plans for an LNG plant in the Gulf Province with initial output of a minimum of 3.8 million tonnes per annum. 

As the Prime Minister has announced, the decision also approves the acquisition by the State of an additional 27.5% equity interest in the Elk/Antelope gas fields, over and above the 22.5% interest to which it is entitled under the Oil & Gas Act, on terms to be negotiated with InterOil.

InterOil understands that the State intends to take its entitlement to gas from the project in kind, to be used in part in domestic power generation and natural gas related industries thereby providing a boost to PNG's growth and prosperity. InterOil is pleased to be able to provide this opportunity to the State, and is the first developer of a major oil & gas project to do so. 

As the Prime Minister has announced, the NEC has approved the establishment of a State negotiating team to discuss and agree to the necessary amendments to the 2009 project agreement between the State and Liquid Niugini Gas Limited, to give effect to the NEC decision, and to agree on the terms on which the State will acquire the additional equity interest. 

The NEC decision confirms that the basis of the acquisition will be commercial market terms. The NEC also includes as a condition of its approval an agreement with regard to an internationally recognized operator of the facilities.

 InterOil is ready to participate in these discussions, which it expects will commence shortly.
Given the importance of the LNG project, the PNG Cabinet also approved the establishment of the Ministerial Gas Committee comprised of key economic ministers to fast track commercialization of the county's second LNG project.

Now that the Government's position has been clarified, InterOil anticipates being able to conclude an agreement for a sale of an interest in the Elk and Antelope resource in Petroleum Retention Licence 15 and the first 3.8 million tonnes per annum Gulf LNG Train to a partner or partners in the coming weeks. Major oil companies, national oil companies, and Asian utilities have been actively engaged in the process.

InterOil wishes to record its appreciation for the support of the Prime Minister, the Minister of Petroleum and Energy, and Government departments in reaching this landmark stage in the LNG project approval process. 

We look forward to bringing this LNG project on-line, for the long-term benefit of Papua New Guinea, InterOil, and all project stakeholders.

The unknown ocean world

by The Canadian Press 

The vast world that exists beneath the surface of the ocean remains largely unknown to humankind, say experts working on an international database of marine species.
Of an estimated one million species that make their home in the depths of the sea, as many as two-thirds of them are still a mystery, says a study published this week.

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

This photo shows Lopha cristagalli, an oyster, covered by Monanchora sponge (a red sponge typical for oysters), in Papua New Guinea. THE CANADIAN RESS/ho-WoRMS Photo Gallery-Gustav Paulay, 2010

Canada has more coastline than any other nation on Earth, a staggering 200,000 kilometres plus, and the nation's territorial waters cover more than seven million square kilometres over three different oceans.
The country is a world leader in marine research but even here, the sea still holds many surprises, says Gerhard Pohle, acting executive director of the Huntsman Marine Science Centre in St. Andrews, N.B.
"There are an amazing amount of things, especially in the ocean, that we don't know in terms of biodiversity," says Pohle, who spent a decade taking part in an international Census of Marine Life, a decade-long project than concluded in 2010.
It was only last year that scientists published research that estimated there are approximately 10 million distinct species on Earth, Pohle said.
"It's staggering to think that as recently as 2011, we did not know how many species there are in the world by order of magnitude. The estimates were anywhere from three to 100 million species globally. That was it," Pohle says.
"I'm somebody who works on this and when I saw it, I couldn't believe it."
The article published in the academic journal Current Biology this week estimates there are one million marine species.
A World Register of Marine Species has catalogued 226,000 of them so far. As many as 72,000 more specimens have been collected and are waiting to be described.
"Knowing what lives in the ocean is fundamental to appreciate, care and protect it," said Ward Appeltans, one of the authors and the project manager of the Ocean Biogeographic Information System of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.
"Having a single catalogue of all known marine species is like an index in a library. We can all start using the same species names, avoid confusion over names and make less mistakes."

New Britain Palm Oil 9-month sales down

NASDAQ

(RTTNews.com) - New Britain Palm Oil Limited (NBPO.L), a Papua New Guinea-based producer of palm oil, Friday reported lower sales for the first nine months of the year, owing to weather impacts compounded by flagging crude palm oil or CPO and palm kernel oil or PKO prices. 

For nine months, the group posted net sales of US$528 million compared with US$593.7 million for the year-before period. 

The company produced 388,187 tonnes of CPO, down 7.9% from 421,715 tonnes for the same period last year, on the back of lower fresh fruit bunches or FFB production and lower extraction rates. 

 Production of PKO too dipped 10.6% to 27,179 tonnes from 30,410 tonnes for the prior-year period.

Average CPO price per tonne for the period stood at US$1,098, down from US$1,115 year-over-year. 

Average PKO price per tonne totaled US $1,393 versus US$1,830 a year ago.

The palm oil producer said local currency has appreciated nearly 16 % year-on-year against the US dollar, leading to a rise in labor and overhead costs, directly affecting the profitability for the period. 

Falling prices due to overhang of palm oil stock and weather issues further exacerbated the problem.

Looking forward, the company said freight and fertilizer costs are expected to go down in 2013 and that it has reorganised its management structure to better cope with the peak cropping period in the first half of 2013.

Currently, the stock is trading down 2.8% at 486.00 pence on the LSE.

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PNG government seeks 50% of Interoil LNG project

Nov 16 (Reuters) - Papua New Guinea's government is seeking a 50% stake in Interoil's $6 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Peter O'Neill said on Friday. Interoil's current agreement with the Papua New Guinea government allows the government to take up to a 20.5% ownership in the company's Gulf LNG project.
The Gulf LNG development has so far struggled to find an experienced LNG operator.
In its third quarter earnings results on Thursday, Interoil said it was making good progress in negotiations with the Papua New Guinea government around its proposal to develop Gulf LNG, but did not mention any plans to increase the government's stake in the project.
The company also said it was also making good progress on plans for the first stage of the Gulf LNG project, a 3.8 million tonne per year plant which it expects to come online in 2015.
U.S.-based Interoil did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

PNG government seeks 50% stake in LNG project

By Liam Fox

ABC Port Moresby

The Papua New Guinea government has announced it wants a 50 percent stake in a multi-billion dollar liquefied natural gas project.

For much of this year the PNG government has clashed with a consortium led by InterOil Corporation over the development of two gas fields in Gulf Province.
In May the government threatened to terminate the project agreement because it didn't like InterOil's design.
Now the Prime Minister Peter O'Neill says cabinet has approved a "50/50 Gulf LNG Project" with the state to take up a 50 percent equity interest, much more than the 22.5 percent allowed for under PNG law.
In a statement, Mr O'Neill said the fiscal incentives in the current project agreement will have to be reviewed and an experienced operator found to operate the upstream facilities.