Purari Development Association Inc

22/07/2026

National Court grants 1 Month Injunction stopping the Papua LNG Project Development Forum in favour of Purari Development Association Inc. Application today. Details of the case will be published later.

01/07/2026

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Government Assures Excluded Landowners Ahead of Papua LNG Forum

The National Government has assured customary landowners who were excluded from the Papua LNG Ministerial Determination that their concerns will be considered ahead of the Papua LNG Development Forum scheduled for July 6.

The assurance was given during an urgent high-level meeting held on June 25 between Petroleum Minister Jimmy Maladina, Provincial and Local Level Government Affairs Minister and Kikori MP Soroi Marepo Eoe, Acting National Petroleum Authority Managing Director David Manau and representatives of affected landowner groups from Baimuru.

The meeting followed concerns over the Ministerial Determination and public notice issued on June 24, which invited recognised beneficiary landowners to prepare for the Papua LNG Development Forum.

Representatives claimed that about 80 per cent of customary landowners from Baimuru, Pawaea, East Ihu and West Ihu had been excluded from the determination. They argued that the Social Mapping and Landowner Identification (SMLI) study used as the basis for identifying beneficiaries did not adequately reflect customary ownership and the historical ties of affected communities.

The excluded groups included the Nine Tribes of Baimuru, the 140 Clans of Pawaea, and the Aita, Orokolo, Ahia and Kouri tribes of East Ihu.

Representatives from the Purari Development Trust, led by former senior public servant Jacob Kairi, and the Purari Development Association, headed by Roy Evara Jr., presented submissions supporting the inclusion of the excluded groups.

They said their claims were based on customary lineage, cultural affiliations, archaeological evidence and long-standing occupation of the project area.

Minister Eoe, an anthropologist with nearly three decades of experience in social mapping and landowner identification, acknowledged the complexity of customary landownership in the region.

"You have to be a local to truly appreciate the complexities of our people's historical, cultural and customary landownership rights.

These are matters that cannot always be fully understood through technical reports alone," he said.

Minister Maladina reaffirmed the Government's commitment to holding the Papua LNG Development Forum as scheduled, describing the project as one of national strategic importance.

He said while the overall benefit-sharing package is prescribed by law and cannot simply be increased, there are other avenues through which broader participation by affected communities can be accommodated.

These include Development Levies, Infrastructure Development Grants, Business Development Grants, infrastructure programs and other community development benefits.

However, he explained that royalty payments are governed by existing legislation and are primarily reserved for recognised wellhead and pipeline corridor landowners, making that aspect of benefit sharing legally constrained.

The meeting ended with an agreement for further dialogue before the commencement of the Development Forum to address the grievances raised by the excluded groups.

Landowner representatives reiterated their support for the Papua LNG Project, saying they wanted to see the development proceed for the benefit of Gulf Province and Papua New Guinea.

They stressed, however, that the project's long-term success would depend on ensuring that all genuine customary landowners are fairly recognised in the benefit-sharing process.

28/06/2026

26 June 2026: Follow up meeting from the 25 June 2026 meeting with the Minister for Petroleum between PDA General Secretary, Roy Evara, Jnr and National Petroleum Authority Managing Director, David Manau and Kenneth Papi from the National Petroleum Authority Legal Division.

28/06/2026

The Purari Development Association Inc. (PDA) extends its gratitude to the Member for Kikori and Minister for Provincial and Local Level Government Affairs, Hon. Soroi Eoe, for facilitating an urgent meeting regarding the Papua LNG Project Development Forum. The meeting held on 25 June 2026 included the Minister for Petroleum, Hon. Jimmy Maladina, the Managing Director of the National Petroleum Authority, David Manau, and various leaders from the Baimuru District.

During the meeting, Minister Eoe informed the delegation that he has submitted an NEC Submission to approve a Supplementary Benefit Sharing Arrangement for the tribes and clans of Baimuru District who have previously been excluded.

The PDA presented its legal position as an entity that has represented the nine tribes and their respective clans from Baimuru for 52 years. We also affirmed our status as the current holder of a 2023 National Court-reinstated Special Agriculture and Business Lease (SABL), which covers the upstream footprint of the Papua LNG Project.

The PDA operates as a not-for-profit custodian; we do not seek monetary benefits. Our primary objective is to ensure that all members—whose genuine customary land-owning and genealogical rights are protected by the Constitution of Papua New Guinea—are formally recognized by law.

Furthermore, we outlined the implications of the Oil and Gas Act 1998 (Sections 3(1), 10, 116, 169(4)) and the Land Act 1996 (Sections 10 and 102). We highlighted that the current Social Mapping and Landowner Identification Study is flawed and has wrongfully excluded many Baimuru tribes.

In response, the Minister for Petroleum has directed the Managing Director to review our legal and technical submissions and report back, subject to advice from the State Solicitor. In the interim, the PDA has notified the Minister and the Managing Director that we are prepared to file an urgent application to halt the Development Forum until these grievances are resolved.

The PDA’s fight is not for monetary gain, but to ensure that our indigenous identities are not erased or destroyed in the name of development. If the current Social Mapping Report is not corrected, it will become the flawed foundation for all future landowner recognition.

No project has the constitutional right to replace our identity and customary rights.

08/06/2026

Media Statement from Opposition Leader, Hon James Nomane in response to PDA's Open Letter to PM Hon. James Marape.

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GOVERNMENT MUST ACT NOW: PAPUA LNG PROJECT IS AT RISK
Saturday, 6 June 2026

For Papua New Guinea, the Papua LNG Project represents the single most consequential economic project towards its economic recovery. Today, the Marape Government's failure to honour its own court orders and respect the constitutional rights of customary landowners’ risks failing the project.

The Purari Development Association Incorporated (PDA) holds recognised title-holder interests under the Petroleum Act and the Oil and Gas Act 1998. The National Court, in OS (JR) No. 10 of 2023, reinstated the PDA's Special Agriculture and Business Lease — yet the Government's own Ministerial Determination has excluded six tribes and their clans from official recognition, in direct disregard of that court order. This is not an administrative oversight. This is constitutional negligence.

The stakes are high. Papua LNG carries the potential to inject tens of billions of Kina into the national economy over its lifecycle, create thousands of jobs during construction and operations, and generate transformative government revenue through taxes, royalties, dividends, and downstream participation. With our national debt stock at K65–66 billion, and annual interest repayments around K3.7 billion, which consumes funds urgently needed for hospitals, roads, and classrooms, the Papua LNG is an imperative fiscal lifeline.

Successful project delivery would strengthen foreign exchange inflows, relieve chronic Kina devaluation pressures, reduce inflation, and restore investor confidence in Papua New Guinea as a sovereign host of major resource projects.

Yet after seven years, Papua LNG has still not reached Final Investment Decision (FID). Seven years of negotiations. Seven years of missed milestones. Seven years during which TotalEnergies and project partners have watched this Government cycle through promises without delivery. In that same period, comparable LNG projects in Mozambique, Qatar, and the United States have advanced to production.

The escalation of PDA's grievances to international banking consortia, project financiers, and the Equator Principles framework secretariat is a direct consequence of the Government's inaction. In today's global financing environment, major LNG developments are scrutinised against Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) standards and environmental and social governance benchmarks. Any perception that Papua New Guinea disregards court orders or denies legitimate landowner participation will deepen the financing and reputational risk already threatening this project.

The path forward is clear. First, the Prime Minister must immediately convene a high-level meeting with the PDA, relevant State agencies, and project stakeholders now. Second, the Ministerial Determination must be reviewed to restore lawful recognition to the six excluded tribes consistent with the National Court's ruling. Third, the Government must provide TotalEnergies and project financiers with a credible, legally sound landowner resolution framework before further FID milestones are at risk.

Engaging legitimate landowners is not a concession. It is responsible national leadership. Papua New Guinea cannot afford to squander this generation's greatest economic opportunity on avoidable disputes born of administrative contempt.

Ends//

08/06/2026

MEDIA RELEASE

RESOURCE RIGHTS: PURARI DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION WARNS OF IMMINENT LEGAL ACTION OVER ‘ADMINISTRATIVE ERASURE’ OF LANDOWNERS IN PAPUA LNG PROJECT
Release

08/06/2026

Copy of Purari Development Association Inc. Open Letter to Prime Minister, PM Hon. James Marape.