THE National Court in Waigani has dismissed a case by Twinza Oil (PNG) Ltd concerning its petroleum development licence (PDL) application for the Pasca project located 95km off the coast of Kerema in Gulf.
Judge Nicholas Miviri in his decision last Thursday (April 13) dismissed Twinza’s judicial review stating that the company by its own conduct had demonstrated that there was no cause for alarm to maintain the process in court.
Twinza had filed a judicial review after it was issued a purported instrument under Section 54(2) of the Oil and Gas Act (1998) to furnish additional information and such proposals in connection with its application for a petroleum development licence No.14 (APDL14).
The instrument was issued by Petroleum and Energy secretary David Manau last April 7 in his capacity as director under the Oil and Gas Act.
The instrument for additional information requested by Manau included the assertion that Twinza was a tax haven company registered in the British Virgin Islands.
Twinza aggrieved by Manau’s instrument filed a case in the National Court and named Manau, Petroleum Minister Kerenga Kua, and the State as defendants in the case.
Twinza argued that the instrument by Manau was invalid because the information and the proposal requested did not have any relevance to its PDL application therefore it refused to provide the information requested.
Twinza also obtained a stay order concerning Manau’s instrument.
However, Judge Miviri in his decision found that Twinza on April 28, 2022, provided the information requested by Manau via the instrument.
“This is in light of the fact that they (Twinza) had a stay in their favour not to divulge or heed section 54 (2) of the Oil and Gas Act of 1998 at the discretion of the director (Manau),” he said.
Here they have opted to heed and volunteer that information even in the face of a stay order they had obtained against the director.”
Judge Miviri said rather than wait out the process of the court Twinza had supplied to Manau the information in defiance of the stay order.
He said this was an abuse of process.
Judge Miviri dismissed the case, including the stay order obtained by Twinza.
The National / Pacific Mining News