Hiri-Koiari MP Keith Iduhu has called for changes to the governance structure of the PNG LNG project's Kroton Equity Option (KEO), arguing that landowners hosting the project's liquefaction plant have been excluded from decision-making despite their contribution to Papua New Guinea's largest resource development.
Speaking in Parliament on 3 June 2026, Keith Iduhu formally presented a petition on behalf of the PNG LNG Plant Site Landowners of Caution Bay and the people of Central Province, seeking what he described as the rightful recognition and control of benefits negotiated under the 2009 PNG LNG Project Umbrella Benefits Sharing Agreement (UBSA).
Addressing Parliament, Iduhu said the petition sought the implementation of commitments already agreed under the landmark benefits-sharing agreement signed in Kokopo.
"The liquefaction plant, the storage tanks, the marine export terminal — the entire commercial engine of the PNG LNG Project — sits on the customary land of our people in the Hiri-Koiari District," Iduhu said following the parliamentary sitting on 4 June.
"Without our land, there is no plant. Without our land, there is no LNG revenue for this nation. Not a single kina," he added.
The petition centres on the Kroton Equity Option, a key component of the Total Benefits Package negotiated under the Kokopo UBSA between the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, the Central Provincial Government, the Hiri Local-Level Government and project area landowners.
Under the agreement, beneficiaries were granted a commercial option over an undivided and fixed 25.75 per cent shareholding in Kroton Limited, which holds the State's equity interest in the PNG LNG Project.
Iduhu said Clause 6.1(a)(ii) of the UBSA entitled beneficiaries to an estimated 4.22 per cent share of the PNG LNG Project interest, later revised to 4.27 per cent.
He noted that under Clause 6.3.2 of the agreement, the 4.27 per cent Kroton Equity entitlement is divided in a 76:24 ratio between the upstream Petroleum Development Licence (PDL) areas and the downstream pipeline and LNG plant areas.
According to Iduhu, the downstream 24 per cent tranche is further allocated among beneficiaries identified under the agreement, with the allocation structure negotiated and signed by all parties in 2009.
"These numbers were not invented today," he said. "It does not belong to the State as a gift to dispense. They were negotiated, agreed and signed in 2009 in the spirit of the National Constitution. They are binding."
Iduhu's concerns stem from National Executive Council (NEC) Decision No. 64 of 2026, which established the governance framework and board composition for the Kroton Equity Option Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).
He argued that the current arrangement does not provide direct representation for PNG LNG Plant Site Landowners, despite the project's key infrastructure being located on their customary land.
According to Iduhu, the structure provides a dedicated director for Hides PDL landowners and both a dedicated director and a permanent ex-officio seat for Southern Highlands Province, while Plant Site Landowners and Central Province receive no equivalent representation.
"Yet NEC Decision No. 64/2026 has established a KEO SPV Board that gives our Plant Site Landowners no dedicated director and gives the Governor of Central Province no permanent ex-officio seat," he told Parliament.
"The people on whose land the plant physically stands — the largest single downstream landowner group in the entire agreement — are left without a seat of their own," he added.
Describing the arrangement as unjust and unconstitutional, Iduhu said he would continue advocating for the affected landowners.
The petition calls on Parliament to direct the NEC to amend the governance arrangements by either creating a ring-fenced governance structure within Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited (KPHL), allowing Plant Site beneficiaries full control of their dividends and equity interests, or establishing a separate Plant Site Kroton Equity Option SPV governed entirely by the beneficiaries.
It also proposes that KPHL be reimbursed only for independently audited costs incurred in managing the equity, without any profit margin.
"We are not asking for someone else's share," Iduhu said. "We are asking to govern and control what is already ours — what was negotiated and signed at Kokopo in 2009. The State does not gift us this equity. It owes it to us."
Iduhu thanked communities from Boera, Papa, Rearea and Porebada for their continued support.
The petition was formally lodged on 2 June and now awaits consideration by Parliament and the NEC.
The issue is expected to attract significant attention across the resource sector as discussions continue over the distribution and governance of benefits arising from the PNG LNG Project, one of Papua New Guinea's largest sources of export revenue and foreign investment.
