Fourteen years of waiting has come to an end for the landowner groups of Hides 4 Petroleum Development License (PDL) 7 area in Hela province for their long overdue royalties from the gas resource from their lands that make up the country’s massive Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project that has made billions for the country.
Mr. Augustin Mano, the Managing Director of the company that looks after the resource project landowner royalties and equities- the Mineral Resource Development Company (MRDC) Limited, told the landowners of the six blocks that they will finally receive their long awaited K19. 6million royalty paid out to them.
Mr. Mano explained that this amount is the 40% from the total K49million comprising of K31million royalty in 2021 total paid in since 2014, and the K18.5million equity.
Of the royalty given, that 40% is cash benefit for landowners, 30% for Community Infrastructure Trust Fund (CITF) for community projects, 20% to go for investments for future use and 10% to church activities.
Mr. Mano further added that these funds belong to the landowners for their resource used and it will continue from this time onwards until whenever the PNG LNG project wraps up operation, and the people must use it to better develop and improve their living standards.
Meanwhile, Hela Governor Philip Undialu congratulated his people of Hides 4 for their cooperation in ensuring that this moment eventual takes place by sorting out their issues internally, electing their respective clan chairmen in preparation for the opening of the accounts, which led to the royalty and equities paid out to them.
“This time the funds will come down to the hundred and seventy-seven accounts and will then reach each of your clans with your accounts opened,” said the governor.
Governor Undialu then urged the clan leaders and the association chairmen to ensure transparency in the disbursing of funds from the funds paid out as it will directly benefit them.
Meanwhile, the dummy cheque of the royalty payment was presented to the landowner groups and Gas Resources Hides-4 Limited at the Para Primary School in front of the landowners and delegates, including ExxonMobil PNG that were there to witness this significant event.
The release of the royalty payment was significant because Hides 4 is the first upstream PDL to receive its payment. The other PDLs were from the pipeline segments and the plant site landowners.
The agreement for the extraction of gas from PDL 7 was signed back in 2009 in Kokopo along with the other agreements for the other gas fields.