Gulf signs with reservations

Gulf Governor Havila Kavo

By MATTHEW VARI

Sunday, January 1, 2017 (Sunday Chronicle, PNG)



DESPITE signing along with principle resource provinces of the PNG LNG project Southern Highlands and Hela provinces- Gulf Governor Havila Kavo maintained his reservations of the Kroton arrangement remained.

He made it known before signing the documents that prevented his province from benefiting from the state’s interest through its Kroton equity in the LNG project.

“Kroton was one of those issues that was hanging in the cloud for many years and we are thankful that the O’Neill Dion government has come good in understanding the cries of the people, the resource owners- giving an offer to the 5 provincial governments giving us a reduced equity price which I believe is a sign of a good government trying to give something more lighter than what it should have been,” Governor Kavo said.

“But I still have my issues which I thought should have been addressed earlier on before any signing could have taken place, but seeing that the principle resource owners and the provincial government have I have no other options but to support what they are doing.”

“They have signed and I will also sign but other issues pending our professional teams will sit together with the provincial government and also with affected landowners to actually relook at the figures and the calculations.”

He said that his team believed that figures were either inflated or deflated in instances.

“Figures that need to be properly calculated so that people are given an honest figure so that they are believing too much for too much, expecting little much and not getting frustrated because it is too low.”

“These are the things that clarity has to be given so that our people who are resource owners and the provincial governments are happy with the deal that they are going to receive from the signing and agreement that the leaders are making.”

Meetings will take place in the next two to three weeks between provincial governments of the 5 beneficiary provinces, landowners, and Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited to iron out particulars regarding the 4.27% stake in the State’s 16.57% in the LNG project.