Ramu seeks to hike palm oil production

By MALUM NALU

RAMU Agri Industries Ltd is looking at increasing the capacity of its mill at Gusap in the Ramu Valley to process 45 tonnes of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) per hour by the end of next year, The National reports.
 The current mill at Gusap, which has been in operation since March 2008, was the first to be established in the Momase region with a capacity of 30 tonnes of FFB per hours.
“We are expanding to go up to 45 tonnes an hour,” assistant mill manager John Kuloi told The National in Gusap.

Kulo at work in the mill last Friday.-Nationalpics by MALUM NALU

“All the upgrading on now is to take us up to there.”
Fruit come from Gusap and Dumpu estates, the latter located in the Usino-Bundi area of Madang province past Gusap.
“Ninety-eight per cent of the fruit is from the company estates, while 2% is from smallholders,” Kuloi said.
“We have 99 employees, most of whom are nationals, and only one expatriate in mill manager Geoff Downs.
“We operate two shifts.
“We have a maintenance crew, an administration crew, and a project upgrading crew.

Fresh fruit being boiled in the mill last Friday.

“Our storage capacity at the Gusap mill is 2,000mt of crude palm oil (CPO) held in two tanks of 1,000mt  each, and a tank of palm kernel oil (PKO) with a storage of 250 metric tonnes.
“We have a separate oil storage facility in Lae.
“It has a capacity of 5,000 tonnes crude palm oil and 600 tonnes palm kernel oil.
“With upgrading, the total in Lae will go up to 7,500 tonnes crude palm oil while palm kernel oil will remain constant at 600 tonnes.”
RAIL has been part of the New Britain Palm Oil (NBPOL) Group – a world leader in the palm oil industry - since 2008.
According to NBPOL’s 2011 annual report, the new plantings at RAIL were carried out at the beginning of the year and at the new mini-estate at Ngaru under the lease/lease-lease model at the end of the year.
“There remains approximately 1,400ha of customary land that is likely to become available in the near future,” the report said.
“Nearly 2,000ha of additional customary land have been identified, and there is potentially much more along both the Markham and Ramu valleys.
“A significant proportion of the soils in the Ramu Valley are threaded with gravel streams, a legacy of major landslips due to young igneous rock, coupled with high tectonic activity and heavy rains.
“The water-holding capacity in these soils is poor, leading to soil moisture deficits during the drier part of the year.
“In response to the challenge, RAIL has embarked on an ambitious plan to trial several irrigation delivery systems over an area of 1,100ha.
“Irrigated palms on land with significant soil moisture deficit will potentially yield 50% more fruit, like for example, an additional 10t/ha of FFB per annum.”
As reported in The National yesterday, the biggest-ever multi-million kina water irrigation project in PNG is being built at Gusap by RAIL for its palm oil estate.
The 440km long irrigation project, the first of its kind in PNG, is at the core of RAIL’s plans for palm oil expansion in Gusap and could set the benchmark for such similar projects in the country

Remembering the late GREG BLUETT

Bikes, Camera, Neverland and a Uke

A tribute in Memory to lau Turagu Namona, (my best friend) Greg

13 August 1958 – 12 June 2012

By ADAM VAI DELANEY

Gregory William Bluett, late son of Noel and Margaret, passed-on last Tuesday (June 12) evening with his family praying by his side in hospital. 

He died peacefully and by accounts from his family, so very unexpectedly at the age of 53.

 His doctors had suggested survival for about 6-12 months. 

But he stopped breathing, and his pain vanished, far sooner. 

The tragic, sudden turn of events had me, and I am sure many more, in shock and disbelief.

 Greg’s wish was that his celebration funeral, held in Cairns last Saturday 16 June, be rich in colour and joy.

 His wish was well honoured. 

His motorbike and friends at the gravesite

An entourage of special friends played the ukulele and sang beside him, and the Chapel of Memories was full of rainbow colours.

 A family friend said that anyone not knowing what has happening would think it was a “Wiggles Conference,” and Greg would have loved that.

 Greg was a real-life Peter Pan, the fictitious, character about a mischievous, ageless boy that wished to be youthful forevermore and fly.

 Greg was the epitome of “Pan” - enjoy life to the max and only he could fly with a motor-bike. 

A man with such a love for doing the extraordinary leap-of-faith, and if it had an engine so that he could do that, oh! even better.

 Greg was Mr. Energy; a thriller and thrill-seeker, claiming a closet of victory trophies and awards in the sport of motocross, and was renown for his ability to perform ‘crazy’ stunts  whilst dressed in a clown-costume at the Lae Show in the 80’s.

 With his parents and siblings, he grew up his most of his time in PNG in Goroka and Lae and then later in Port Moresby. 

His eldest brother, Paul, who continues to serve Papua New Guinea in business remarked that “I just gave up trying to look after my brother.” 

I can understand that babysitting Greg would have been like watching over a beehive on a rainy day! 

His mother’s tribute was blunt about his larger than life son always baiting the local police to chase him on his cross-country motorbike across Lae.

 Greg would have been grateful that the young black kid he grew up with, Hon. Moses Maladina, Minister for Police, had come to say goodbye to him and celebrate his life, on Saturday in Cairns. 

And in keeping with Greg’s wicked one-line humour, his brother Paul, joked that finally the police had caught up with him!

 I met Greg at EMTV in Port Moresby, at a time when the company was still finding its feet in the market, and we started in commercial productions under our mentor, Alun Beck.

Adam Delaney (left) and Greg Bluett in Cairns at Amateurs Carnival 2001.

 Television had finally tamed Greg and opened up the path of his dreams.

 His passion for creativity, people, nature, travel, had merged with his love for photography and better still it culminated a career where he could find his dreams as an individual.

 He often said that “you have a camera anywhere in Papua New Guinea and the whole village becomes your friend.” 

His marvellous images around PNG and of the people seemingly unaware of the problems around them, are testament of this wonderful relationship. 

He was finally happy on a road to self-belief and family.

 Greg was a Papua New Guinean in a white-man’s skin with blonde hair. 

Sometimes he was more Kiap, than Kiaps. 

The guy was down to Earth as it came, and sincere in his belief that other people were in far greater need than he was. 

We shared a common distaste for how people were paid in PNG. 

As a Papua New Guinean he earned far, far less than the ‘expert’ expatriate that came into Media Niugini with little knowledge of the country.

 They had company cars, and ‘luxury’ apartments. 

Greg was forced to earn the national equivalent, because he identified himself as being a PNG national, even though his technical and people skills were superior.   

But he plugged along.

 Greg ‘shot’ some of the best pioneering television commercials such as, the original Coca Cola fun-in-the-sun ads on the beaches around Port Moresby, and various Motor Car advertisements. 

We showcased “House of Gemini’s” fine jewellery with a memorable ‘shoot’ at Daugo Island using Bob Garner’s “Heart of Gold” yacht.

 When Greg finally left PNG, his spirit had remained. 

He would often return to his spirit-land, and did so recently, including to New Ireland for the “Mask Festival” and catch-up also with his wantoks from the Bahai Faith.

 He set up his own company, GBTV, and was closely connected with WIN Television in Cairns and the Cairns business community.

 It was a rare moment for me helping him, part time, set-up cameras and film races during the signature event- Cairns Amateurs Carnival. 

Our job was to record the horse races, which could be used as evidence of any irregular behaviour by Jockeys – like using whips on another horse. 

Greg would have left a legacy of at least 8,000 television commercials produced in his lifetime.

 He drove from the West Coast of America in a rent-a-car to New York City, and stayed with my family and I in the late 1990’s on Roosevelt Island. 

He couldn’t stop filming.

 For a man of film, the City was jungle of images.

 Greg’s greatest heart was his beautiful daughter, Rebecca, from his former wife, Elaine, whom he met in Cairns.

 We last spoke almost six weeks ago when I treated him and his partner, Gabby, for lunch at a Japanese restaurant in town.

 He was a ‘happy chappie’ as usual and didn’t know then, according to his family, that the lingering pain in his throat was something far sinister and, as it turned out, fatal.

 Over lunch, I invited him to join me in playing over 35’s (age) soccer at Trinity Park and he seemed enthusiastic. 

When the match was scheduled, I emailed him and in true Greg cheek, he responded that “we should train, as he hadn’t kicked a soccer ball in almost 20 years.”

 I laughed out loudly and replied that as it was an “over 35s competition” our team does not even warm-up before a game! 

So very sadly, I never had the chance to see him kick around.

 Greg you will be missed mate. 

A true wantok, with many friends from so many walks of life. 

You taught many in PNG how to use a camera and edit better.

 If there’s a speedway in Heaven, I’ll be looking out for a man in a clown-suit, waving a PNG flag, dancing his bike amongst the clouds and blasting Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” on a ukulele.

 Bamahuta lau Turagu, God Bless until we meet again.

Adam Vai Delaney was a former PNG Diplomat and now works as an Independent Consultant in Asia-Pacific.

Investors eye PNG gas prospects

By OXFORD BUSINESSS GROUP

INVESTORS have put concerns about political uncertainty in Papua New Guinea to one side, encouraged by the keen interest buyers are showing in the country’s natural gas blocks and major new finds.

Onshore pipeline being laid last year along the route of the PNG LNG pipeline.-Picture courtesy of ESSO HIGHLANDS

PNG’s gas resources are earmarked to play a crucial part in its development, with reserves estimated at around 22.6 trillion cubic feet (tcf), and much of the country has yet to be explored due to its challenging terrain.
Last month, the Australian company Oil Search confirmed that it had received offers from both new and existing players to participate in its exploration acreage in the Gulf of Papua.
The news followed an announcement made some weeks earlier by Oil Search, together with its US-based partner ExxonMobil, that the gas zone at the P’nyang South-1 well had been found, through a “sidetrack well”, to run some 200m deeper than originally estimated.
The well forms part of an exploration campaign in the PNG highlands which supports the expansion of a US$15.7 billion PNG Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project, which is scheduled to come on-stream in 2014.
The new find increases the total gas column to about 380m and doubles the field’s estimated reserve to around 3tcf.
Two LNG production units are currently under construction as part of the project.
But the P’nyang find and the confidence it is generating have prompted speculation that a third LNG train, which would boost annual export capacity from 6.6 million tonnes to around 10 million tonnes, may well follow.
“This outcome has virtually been assured with the better-than-anticipated result at the P’nyang South-1 and sidetrack that is presently being completed,” an industry source told The Australian.
Such confidence is likely to be generating much of the widespread interest in Oil Search’s untested Gulf of Papua assets.
Chief executive Peter Botten told the media last month that drilling at its Trapia-1 mine would start this month, followed by work at the Hides prospect, which, with 3 tcf in proven reserves, is the mainstay of the LNG venture.
The new wave of investor interest follows a US$280 million deal struck last February by Japan’s Mitsubishi to buy stakes in several natural gas discoveries and prospects in the forelands area of western Papua New Guinea from Canada’s Talisman Energy.
In a separate move, the Anglo-Dutch hydrocarbons giant Shell opened a representative office in the capitalin the same month.
Gordon Ramsay, an analyst for UBS, told Radio New Zealand in February that PNG’s potential was generating widespread interest despite the challenges associated with its difficult terrain.
“In the Southern Highlands region, the terrain has made it very difficult to explore in the area so there’s not a high level of maturity of exploration,” he said, “so there’s potential to find more gas.”
However, while interest in PNG’s gas resources is running high, concerns are also mounting that elections starting on Saturday could raise political tensions, sending ripple effects through the country’s energy projects.
PNG will be keen to avoid turbulence, with its plans to tap growing demand for LNG, especially in China, well under way.
Forecasts from the International Energy Agency (IEA) recently show that LNG trade looks set to expand by 35% from 2015 onwards.
China is expected to become PNG’s leading customer, with figures estimating that its consumption of LNG will double in the next five years.
In a bid to ensure it is in a strong position to meet the anticipated rise in demand, the government has moved to encourage larger energy companies to invest in PNG by setting a 180-day trigger date for terminating its 2009 project agreement with InterOil.
It has also asked the Australia-based company to sell a minimum 50.5% stake in the Elk/Antelope reserves to a company experienced in operating a large-sized plant.
An affiliate of InterOil has described the government’s notice of intent as invalid.
However, Port Moresby appears to be standing firm.
“InterOil has for too long insisted on a development structure, which is designed to only meet its objectives of controlling the asset and the pace of developing it,” Minister for Petroleum and Energy, William Duma said.
“This has led to a proposal calling for a piecemeal, incremental and fractured development implementation operated by InterOil and its affiliates, rather than by large-scale international operators with experience and capital.”
While the move is not without controversy, it is an indicator of the high confidence levels that PNG’s energy sector is generating, both within the country and internationally.
Figures released by the International Monetary Fund in June forecast that LNG production should boost real GDP by about 20% when it reaches full capacity in 2015

O’Neill-Duma LNG row over Gulf LNG

By MALUM NALU

PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill and his Petroleum and Energy Minister William Duma – who has openly campaigned that he wants to be next prime minister – appear to be on opposite sides of the controversial issue regarding InterOil’s Gulf LNG project, The National reports.
InterOil, the meat in the sandwich, has jumped into the fray by supporting O’Neill just days before voting in the 2012 elections begin.

InterOil’s Antelope 2 well during flow test on December 1, 2009.-Picture by INTEROIL CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS

The continuing drama and intrigue over InterOil’s Gulf LNG project continued yesterday with Duma calling on the company to deliver the project, just days after O’Neill said he supported InterOil.
Duma, in a statement released from the office of state-owned Petromin but in his name, reaffirmed the state’s position that InterOil must comply with the project agreement it signed with the state in December 2009 to commercialise the Elk/Antelope gas discovery.
This somewhat contradicts O’Neill’s statement last Friday, reiterating strong support for InterOil’s Gulf LNG project and expressing hope that the company would progress its development quickly.
“Under the agreement, InterOil committed to build a 7.6 million tonne per annum to 10.6 million tonne per annum LNG processing facility,” Duma said.
“The facility is to be operated by an internationally-recognised LNG operator.”
Duma said InterOil had deviated from this contract and was “instead proposing a staged small-scale LNG project, which they indicated will be operated by companies not internationally recognised LNG operators in the so-called ‘Gulf LNG Project’”.
“The staged development proposal by InterOil has been rejected by the state,” he said.
“Furthermore, the state through the Department of Petroleum and Energy has given InterOil Corporation 180 days notice to show cause why the project agreement should not be terminated if they did not deliver the project in the project agreement.”
Duma said as minister responsible for the Oil and Gas Act, he supported the development of a second large-scale LNG project.
He therefore called on InterOil to cooperate with the state and deliver the project as called for in the project agreement.
Duma said the onus was on InterOil to commit to developing the project in the agreement and the facility could be located in the Gulf province.
InterOil said on Tuesday it was pleased to have the support of O’Neill.
“The company looks forward to bringing the next world class LNG project to Papua New Guinea in complete satisfaction of the 2009 LNG Project Agreement,” it said.
“Additionally, recent exploration activities have yielded several drill ready prospects which appear to be promising for future resource additions.
“We plan to put our second drilling rig to work in the next few weeks to drill two delineation wells in Petroleum Retention License 15, followed by two exploration wells in Petroleum Prospecting Licenses 236 and 238.”

BSP uses new tech to upgrade service

By MALUM NALU
THE Bank South Pacific aims to revolutionise banking in the country by using cutting edge technology to bring services to the remotest areas of the country, according to group chief executive officer Ian Clyne.
He told The National the bank was using Samsung Galaxy Tablets – in a world first – to bring banking services to remote PNG.
BSP will use these tablets to open new customer bank accounts conveniently in less than 15 minutes anywhere in the country.
With the tablet, bank staff can input customer details, take a photo and customers jot down their signature.
The customer walks away with a pre-registered KunduCard and new account instantly.

BSP's Timothy Sipwanji and Nancy Knight (standing) opening a new BSP Kundu account for The National business reporter Gynnie Kero (right), using a Samsung Galaxy Tablet.

“We are basically able to, within five minutes, open up an account, take your photograph as a customer, the customer signs on the tablet, the information goes back to our system in real time,” Clyne said.
“The person has a bank card immediately, not in one week or two weeks time.
“We can do that anywhere in the country in five minutes.
“We now have 350 Galaxy tablets around the country.
“There are teams of (BSP) people going out into the rural areas, such as oil palm projects, and getting the workers and drivers to open accounts.
“We have people all over the country going out into the remote areas to help people there open up bank accounts.”
Clyne said BSP was working towards getting 1,000 tablets working all over the country.
This is all part of the lucrative Green Gold campaign, which started this month, and is set to be the largest cash give away in PNG history.
“The reason we launched Green Gold was about financial inclusion,” Clyne said.
“If someone has a bank account, that will encourage them to save and manage their money more professionally.
“You don’t want people to come to the main centres because they have to spend K50, K100 or more to come to the big centres and then we have a big line.
“This (tablet) is part of a strategy of having electronic solutions convenient for customers all around PNG.
“We also have the ability to open up accounts for customers anywhere in PNG,” Clyne said.
“We’ve come up with a technology that is a world-leading technology: a Samsung Tablet and a Windows Bluetooth card, where we can go anywhere in the country, including an Ok Tedi boat down the Fly River.
“There are many firsts going on around the country that a lot of people aren’t aware of.”
Meanwhile, BSP now has two Kundu account choices for its retail customers: Kundu Account Standard and Kundu Account Plus.
The Kundu Account Standard is for customers who do not frequently transact on their Kundu account or may not use their account every month.
The Kundu Account Plus is for customers who frequently transact on their Kundu account.

Massive irrigation system plan for palm oil

By MALUM NALU

THE biggest-ever multi-million kina water irrigation project in PNG – the ‘Ramu Pipeline’ - is being built at Gusap in Madang province by Ramu Agri Investments Ltd (RAIL) for its palm oil estate, The National reports.
The 440km long irrigation project, the first of its kind in PNG, is at the core of RAIL’s plans for palm oil expansion in Gusap and could set the benchmark for such similar projects in the country.

Workmen laying mainlines for the 440km 'Ramu Pipeline' at Gusap last Thursday.-Nationalpic by MALUM NALU

RAIL general manager Jamie Graham did not disclose any figures for the irrigation project.
But he said it ran into the “millions”.
He said the irrigation project was necessitated by low rainfall and soil fertility and would be carried out over 620ha to see if it was viable.
“The irrigation project is very important to us,” Graham said,
“It’s a unique project in many ways.”
RAIL irrigation and infrastructure manager Adrian van Boven, who gave The National a tour of the project site, said it should be completed by mid 2013.
“We take water from the Gusap River,” he said.
“It comes through the channel and enters the pump supply.
“This pumps the water up to the field.
“We will have a supply of water all year around.
“We expect completion in mid-2013.”
Van Boven said Nawae Construction was carrying out civil works and building the shed, while four teams of RAIL employees were carrying out all other work including laying out 440km of irrigation pipes.
“This is a big project, but the key to it is having the right people and right equipment,” he said.
“We have to get the right people, train them and support them.”
Irrigation team leader Jedii Nabot said his workers were excited about the project as it was the first of its kind in PNG.
“We’re very excited because this is a new thing that is happening in this country,” he said.
“We started laying of the pipes in April.
“We expect to complete this project by next May.”
Mainline team leader Nathan Komea said his team of five workers was very excited about taking part in the project.
“We only install big pipes and big fittings,” he said.
“It’s a new thing and we’re all enjoying it.”
Project equipment include one excavator, two bulldozers, three trencher machines, two tractors and two slashers.

BSP justifies its rate charges

By MALUM NALU
Bank of South Pacific chief executive officer Ian Clyne says there are valid reasons for the fees it charges.
He justified BSP’s rates in reply to questions from The National following complaints from the public, particularly about the automatic telling machine (ATM) fees.
Clyne said the cost of banking services in PNG were very high, including ATMs, and most of these costs were borne by corporate clients as compared to retail clients.

Clyne...our charges are justified

“The retail customers should at least be covering the costs of the service we provide,” he said.
“The PNGBC (BSP’s predecessor) used to give a lot of services for free, but, of course, the PNGBC ran into serious financial trouble.
“So, as I said, if you look at the issue of service fees, the cost of an ATM withdrawal is 75t, the cost of a betelnut is K1.
“That ATM costs a lot of money; it’s a very expensive piece of equipment.
“We have a K3 million system that monitors the performance of the ATM.
“It’s a very expensive exercise to manage maintain an efficient working ATM network, therefore, there needs to be a fee.
“And the fee we charge in Papua New Guinea is about 20% of the fee charged for the same service in Australia or even in Africa
“I clearly understand the majority of the people because incomes are low, and they view some of the service fees as being high.
“Papua New Guineans, in most instances, enjoy very, very low fee structures.”
Apart from the 75t withdrawal fee, other ATM fees charged by BSP are for ATM cash withdrawal at other banks (K2.50), ATM cash withdrawal at other banks using Visa Debit Card (K15), ATM phone top up (75t), ATM balance enquiry (50t), ATM balance enquiry at other banks using VDC (K1.50), ATM balance enquiry at other banks (50t), and ATM mini statement (50t).
Various other fees are charged, all of which can be accessed on the NSP website, http://www.bsp.com.pg/About-Us/Rates--Fees/Fees--Charges/Personal-Fees--Charges.aspx.