29 May 2012

Oxfam urges spread of benefits of PNG LNG project

5:01 pm on 29 May 2012

A new report says more effort has to be made to ensure all the community in Papua New Guinea's Hela Province enjoys the benefits of the huge liquified natural gas project or it could spark conflict.

The Good Community report, compiled by academics and civil society groups, isolates key areas requiring action, including the identification of the correct landowners and better community awareness of the development.

Oxfam New Zealand was one of the contributors to the report and its executive director Barry Coates says the developer ExxonMobil should recognise that besides making money, it needs to look at the wider human development aspirations of the people.

"And that means actually finding the mechanism, including consultation mechanisms, to ensure that the additional economic wealth coming into these communities actually leads to some benefits not only in the short term but also in the longer term, and that is really what the challenge is for Exxon in this project."