ExxonMobil executive assaulted by PNG landowners

Firmin Nanol, Port Moresby
ABC


A group of Papua New Guinea landowners have assaulted a senior executive of ExxonMobil, the lead developer of the country's liquefied natural gas (LNG) project.

Earlier this week, as many as 200 disgruntled landowners hundred besieged the front gates of the building housing ExxonMobil's offices.

The landowners have accused ExxonMobil of secretly signing an agreement with a company - Hides Gas Development Corporation - which does not represent all landowners.

And on Tuesday, ExxonMobil Business Development Manager Noel Wright was attacked and injured when he attempted to address the landowners at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Port Moresby.

ExxonMobil spokesman Stuart Symon says the PNG LNG project is giving proper recognition to landowners and the agreement with Hides Gas Development Corporation will assist those landowners affected by development .

He says the PNG LNG project is not under threat, and the developers are on track to make a Final Investment Decision by December.

Ink and paper are in the hands of the politicians.

The oil and land is in the hands of the local LOs

It the villagers are disatisfied... then keep the bloody coniving politicians and multinationals away.

the problem is not with exxon mobil but is with some so called landowners that have been recognised by Oil Search and have been defrauding MOA funds and other funds from the government for years. This money amounts to hundreds of millions. These are the same people who are spearheading the meeting between landowners and Exxon Mobil. The landowners having witnessed this for the last 15 years have been sitting in the village eating kaukau will these theives ransack millions earmarked for development. With this in mind they do not want these same people to be involved in this project as they have a good track record with the people in the village and these people are being recognised by Exxon Mobil as landowners. That is why these people from the village will go to all means to remove these people, em ol ples mahn ya they will get what they want even if it means using force or closing down the whole operation, what do they have to loose, they have been eating kau kau for generations and do even give a rats arse if this project coz they can go back and live their normal life, like they have lived over the past 15 years since the Hides porject started.