Students learn about balsa downstream processing

By UNRE Public Relations
 

Second year agriculture students of University of Natural Resources & Environment (UNRE) visited two balsa companies in East New Britain recently to learn more about producing better quality of timber and to know how to maintain and improve timber production.

As part of their study on the subject of timber selection, processing and pruning, two groups of second-year students visited the campus based Marsha Berman Sawmill and PNG Balsa Company’s sawmill and processing plant at Takubar, Kokopo.

Students wait for PNG Balsa assistant production manager Joe Raka (left) to take them on the company facilities tour

The students, totaling more than 100, were taken in three tour groups, each conducted by a member of the managing staff of PNG Balsa.

Forestry technical officer, Daniel Waldi, one of two staff members who accompanied them, said the main emphasis of the trip was for students to see firsthand how timber quality was maintained and improved during downstream processing.

The pruning demonstration was carried out at the university’s balsa plantation.

This is the second such visit and Waldi said he noticed a marked improvement in the students’ understanding of the course material, especially in the technology involved in downstream processing of timber.

Student Lydia Lang said the field trip was in line with their lectures on downstream processing.

She said they had found it beneficial as it allowed them to see the processes involved.

Waldi thanked PNG Balsa management staff, Joe Raka (assistant production manager), Bongive Lehe, (assistant production manager) and David Wesley (operations supervisor), for taking the time to give students a tour of the company’s facilities.

Maprik to fund more farmer training

 

A female youth receiving her certificate from Maprik district administrator Simon Faelau, while councillor Ulupu Ward and head trainer IATP look on.-Picture by RAY ROBERTS

By UNRE Public Relations

 Maprik district administrator Simon Faelau has pledged to fund further farmer training in the Yamil/Tamahui local level government (LLG) in Maprik from the district’s joint dis­trict priority (JDP) committee funds.

The trainings will be facilitated by the University of Natural Resources & Environment under its integrated agricultural training programme (IATP).

Announcing this at the closing of an IATP training that was conducted in the LLG’s Ulupu village, Faelau also committed Maprik JDP funds to other projects which include:

• Cocoa quality training for cocoa dryer owners;

• A classroom at a local primary school for K20, 000; and

• K1 million road maintenance.

He commended the university for “bringing the training to the grassroots level”.

Yamil/Tamaui president Tony Kaup also extended apprecia­tion to the university for tak­ing the beneficial training to his people.

He urged the participants to utilise the skills they had gained to improve the liveli­hoods of their families.

The ceremony, which was held on Saturday, August 21, was also attended by the district police station com­mander, executive director of non government organisation Foundation of Women in Ag­ricultural Development Mon­ica Otto, UNRE Sepik Central campus acting director Gitala Pranis, district rural develop­ment officer James Hosea and other local leaders.

The Maprik police com­mander also conducted an alcohol and substance abuse community awareness, par­ticularly on homebrewed al­cohol and marijuana.

He urged parents to exer­cise more control over their children and occupy them with productive activities to sustain their living.

This, he said, would keep them away from taking illicit drugs.

Tolai taro for Port Moresby

ENB taro selling at SVS Foodland supermarket, Harbour city

The first chilling container containing bags of taro, singapore and dry coconuts from East New Britain province went on sale in the Port Moresby in the week leading up to independence on Sept 16, 2010.

These food items were delivered to the Pacific Adventist University (PAU) outside Port Moresby on Sept 10, 2010, after they left Rabaul on Aug 22.

 The shipment was the first joint effort by the taro commercialisation project of National Agriculture Research Institute’s Islands regional centre, Kerevat and the East New Britain women and youth in agriculture (ENBWYIA) to sell taro in Port Moresby markets.

The products were packed in polysacs and stored in cool temperatures between five to eight degrees Celsius during shipment.

There were three taro varieties in the shipment: Baining north, Pomio kukos and Talasea K10. 

Project coordinator Kiteni Kurika and staff from NARI Southern regional centre, Laloki, inspected the quality of the produce on arrival and noted that they were still in good condition for selling.

The taros were distributed to buyers in Port Moresby on Monday Sept 13 and follow-up visits by NARI staff that week revealed that the taros were selling at seven major supermarkets in the city.

A customer buying ENB taro at Stop n Shop supermarket, Rainbow, Gerehu

Their quality and appearance were still good.

 Supermarket staff interviewed were not aware that the taros were from East New Britain.

The taros were selling at K5.90 to K8.95 per kilogram with mark ups of 47 to 124% above the selling price.

The prices will be marked down after one to two weeks of trading as the quality of the taros start to drop.

This initiative came about after decades of research on taro pest and management at the NARI Islands regional centre at Kerevat.

 The bonus of the taro research was that it didn’t stop after a chemical control package was identified to eliminate the threat of taro beetle damaging taro corms, but developed right through to commercialisation stage. 

The taro commercialisation project is spearheaded by ENBWYIA with the support of East New Britain provincial government and NARI.

 The aim of the project is to export the popular food crop outside of the province.

The two-year project which began in March this year was funded by Australian innovative grant scheme (AIGS).

The project aims to research the viability of producing high quality taro consistently for local and international markets.

The ENBWYIA are very fortunate to collaborate with NARI Kerevat in this project and are looking forward to positive outcomes.

They are already being trained to apply Bifenthrin and Mustang as control agents of taro beetle and apply best cultivation practices and post harvest techniques for shipping and marketing. 

The PAU’s commercial section has indicated that the success of this first shipment could lead to other root crops, vegetables and fruits from East New Britain being exported to Port Moresby.

The project would be conducting a taro market survey for wholesalers, retailers and consumers with each shipment to assess the viability of marketing ENB taro in Port Moresby.

Preliminary indications from the sale of the first taro shipment were very encouraging, as all the taros were sold out within a week.

There is, however, scope for improvement: firstly to promote and create awareness on ENB taro amongst Port Moresby buyers and consumers, and secondly to identify other produce with good prospects for the Port Moresby market.  

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.