PNGLNG Project Landowners from the Petroleum Development License No. 7 (PDL7) area in the Hela Province will now begin an election process to elect director representatives to the board of their trust company, Gas Resources Hides 4 limited.
This process follows on from the successful completion of the bank account opening program, conducted by the Mineral Resources Development Company (MRDC) in December last year, which saw 279 clan accounts opened.
The PDL7 area hosts the PNGLNG Project Gas Conditioning Plant in Hides, Hela Province.
The election program was initially scheduled to take place in late February but postponed to join the rest of the country in mourning of passing of the Late Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare, who played a pivotal role in bringing the LNG Project into the country and giving Hela its own Provincial Government Status.
With the State Funeral program complete and the Late Grand Chief finally laid to rest, the MRDC program now continues with an official launching program tomorrow (Thursday 18 March, 2021) in Hides.
MRDC Managing Director Augustine Mano, Governors for Hela and Gulf Province, Philip Undialu and Chris Haiveta, Department of Petroleum and Energy Secretary, David Manau, Kumul Petroleum Holdings Managing Director Wapu Sonk will be in Hides to officiate the launching to be witnessed by the landowners and other stakeholder’s representatives of the PNGLNG Project.
This is the final process, which will see the landowners represented in the board of the company, which holds their interest in the PNGLNG project. A full board is required by its Trust Deed and Company Constitution to deliberate on the affairs company, which includes royalty and equity benefit payouts.
The elections will be conducted by the Electoral Commission of Papua New Guinea and will see the four directors elected to the board to represent six regions in Hides, PDL7; Keteranda, Parepare, Middle, Timalia Kangulu, Towanda Tokaju and Tuguba.
Only the clan chairpersons of the Category A clans per their respective Ministerial Determinations will participate in this election process.
MRDC has so far successfully facilitated this election process for the LNGLNG Plant Facility in 2017 and Pipeline Landowners in 2019.