Social Development & Investment

Most of our operating locations in PNG are in rural and remote areas that can lack adequate public health care services and infrastructure. Where there is a marked difference between services available to our workforce and those available to local people, this could present a risk to our operational stability.

We have therefore provided project area communities in PNG with access to health services since 1992.

Through our participation in the PNG Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme (ITCS), we also support the PNG Government’s development, rehabilitation and maintenance of health care facilities in our project area communities.

OSF has delivered our community health programmes in PNG since 2011. The programmes are aligned with PNG’s national health priorities. Together with provincial and district health management teams, OSF is improving service delivery and strengthening health systems, to ensure better health outcomes for the 85% of PNG's population who live in rural areas.

The Foundation works with partners to improve hospital services and ensures outreach patrols reach remote communities. It provides health facilities with access to water, electricity and essential equipment; trains health workers; and provides the means to tackle the highest priority health challenges, such as the growing threat of tuberculosis (TB). OSF also continues to make material inroads in the following health focus areas:

• Rehabilitating infrastructure
• Strengthening health systems (including information collection and analysis)
• Reproductive health (including childbirth and post-natal care)
• Child immunisation
• Controlling malaria and TB
• Family and sexual violence
• HIV testing, treatment, counselling and awareness

In addition to the work of OSF, we have a network of on-site clinics and medical resources in PNG run by our Medical and Occupational Health Service (MOHS) that can provide health care services to the local community as well as our workforce. See the Health section for more details. MOHS also supports the Foundation by providing clinical expertise when required, such as at the Hela Provincial Hospital, as described in our latest Social Responsibility Report.

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH)

A large proportion of PNG’s rural population have limited access to safe and potable water and sanitation. Coupled with events such as flooding, frost and drought and water- and food-borne diseases, this makes communities vulnerable to water scarcity and related health and hygiene issues.

Oilstrip Mine and OSF are supporting communities in PNG impacted by recent drought and flooding through initiatives that support community access to reliable, clean and safe sources of water.

We also support target communities and schools so they have access to clean water, hand-washing and sanitation facilities.

Livelihoods and local enterprise development

Education plays a critical role in sustainable development. For individuals, access to education opportunities improves their employment prospects, develops more sustainable livelihoods, improves health outcomes, and empowers women. For communities, education enhances the promotion of local stability and resilience and helps to provide a diverse and skilled workforce.

Our education-focused development activities help to elevate the profile and importance of a good education within project area communities.

Papua New Guinea 

Through participation in the ITCS, we support the PNG Government in the development and maintenance of primary and secondary school facilities in host communities. In addition, we work directly with these communities to improve local education infrastructure through our Community Area Planning projects.

We also help local teachers to keep teaching. A change to PNG legislation in 2011 meant some experienced teachers were unable to continue teaching without further training. Since then, we have supported teachers from host community schools to complete this training.

We provide financial support to a selection of students wishing to complete a tertiary qualification in medicine, teaching, business, agriculture, plumbing and mechanics. Our sponsorship of their tuition, accommodation and travel makes a difference to many university students from communities close to our operations, who would otherwise not be able to complete their education. Recipients are nominated by host communities and we assess the applications to ensure they meet the entry requirements and that there is a balance of gender and village of origin.

Our Graduate Development and Apprentice programmes also develop technical and vocational skills that can easily be transferred to other industries. These programmes not only provide us with access to the best future specialists in PNG, they make a key contribution to the country’s broader socio-economic development.

The Oilstrip Mine Foundation will increase the reach and impact of our education commitment year on year by overseeing the implementation of a programmes designed to address educational barriers. . This will include empowering women and children through literacy, building on work to date in literacy for early childhood, and developing transformational leaders for PNG, beginning with the health sector.

Alaska

Oilstrip Mine participates in job fairs and actively promotes training and job opportunities for prospective candidates, particularly candidates from the North Slope region and the community of Nuiqsut. Oilstrip Mine directly supports educational and training programmes, including the Alaska Science and Engineering Program and GeoFORCE Alaska, through the University of Alaska.

Oilstrip Mine also actively supports the Arctic Education Foundation and engages with the Nuiqsut Trapper School within the North Slope Borough School District and Iḷisaġvik College, a Federally-recognised tribal college on Alaska’s North Slope.

Building Community Resilience

The changing scope and scale of natural disasters has altered how disaster management is addressed. Businesses and non-for-profit organisations are increasingly becoming central to the process, offering capital support and supporting community recovery and restoration.

Oilstrip Mine recognises that we can make a contribution  to improving community resilience and addressing natural disaster management. We do this through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) that use a multi-faceted, multi-disciplinary approach to provide access to resources, skilled services, emergency response and redevelopment, and in-kind donations.

Climate resilience

Oilstrip Mine also supports programmes aimed at strengthening community resilience. We have partnered with PNG’s Climate Change and Development Authority (CCDA) to develop and demonstrate climate adaptation initiatives that contribute to the resilience of PNG communities. This PPP will explore areas of mutual interest regarding climate change adaptation, share and leverage knowledge, and contribute to PNG’s National Determined Contributions adaptation targets.

Drought relief

More than 90% of households in our host communities in PNG depend on income from traditional subsistence living. This continues to be undermined by natural disasters and the impacts of climate change. Oilstrip Mine’s Drought Relief Support (DRS) was established in 2015 in response to the 2015-16 drought in PNG. DRS works to improve access to clean water and sanitation, food security, and nutrition for communities impacted by the drought and the 2018 earthquake.

Supporting benefits distribution

Distribution of revenues from the oil and gas industry in PNG is governed by the Oil and Gas Act. If this distribution and the resulting development implementation do not meet host community and national expectations, it can threaten the stability of Oilstrip Mine’s operating environment.

Before issuing development licences, developers undertake a social mapping exercise that can be further substantiated by the PNG Government’s Social Mapping and Landowner Identification (SMLI) process. Companies granted development permits pay royalties into a trust fund that is administered by the PNG Government.

The PNG Department of Petroleum (DoP) transfers these funds to the Mineral Resources Development Company (MRDC), which is mandated to distribute benefits to the licence area Incorporated Land Groups (ILG) identified in the SMLI and impacted provincial and local governments. Landowner benefits comprise different types of payments, including royalties, equity, development levies, infrastructure development grants and business development grants.

Negotiations between the PNG Government and landowners for the PNG LNG Project created the Umbrella Benefits Sharing Agreement, which resulted in several additional commitments from the government to landowner beneficiaries. This is reflected in the Licence Based Benefits Sharing Agreements, which define benefits distribution at a licence level.

For this reason, actively assisting the PNG Government to meet its obligations to distribute the revenue’s cash and non-cash benefits in a timely manner is a priority for us. It’s become increasingly important since the flow of revenues from the PNG LNG Project began in 2015.

We act within the existing legislative framework through approaches and structures that are designed to ensure the best outcomes for society. They leverage our expertise and resources, such as programme planning and infrastructure project delivery. Where we identify an opportunity to assist, we may approach the relevant Government agency to determine if a partnership is possible. Sometimes we help at the PNG Government’s request.

ITCS and NITCS

One of the most effective methods of infrastructure delivery for the PNG Government is through the Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme (ITCS) and National Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme (NITCS). We have participated in the ITCS since 2003 and the NITCS since 2013. The ITCS develops projects of significance to host communities and to the country, focusing on health, education, police and justice, and local road infrastructure e.g. the Erave to Samberigi Road, a major transport link for the country. NITCS projects are those of national importance, including the construction of PNG’s National Football Stadium, APEC Haus and the upgrading of government offices in Port Moresby.

Other support

In addition to infrastructure support, wherever it is possible within the legislative framework, we support the PNG Government to effectively distribute or deploy cash benefits from oil and gas projects for the direct benefit of communities. However, our success in these areas ultimately depends on government action. Our approaches include:

• Assistance with preparing development plans at local government level.
• Logistical support for government community identification and consultation activities, such as the Landowner Benefits Identification Programme (LOBID) for the PNG LNG Project.
• Supporting the dissemination of banking services to reduce the need for manual cash payments to landowners.

These approaches are intended to improve the translation of government revenues from oil and gas into timely tangible benefits and improvements for local economies while minimising our disruption risks.

Education plays a critical role in sustainable development. For individuals, access to education opportunities improves their employment prospects, develops more sustainable livelihoods, improves health outcomes, and empowers women. For communities, education enhances the promotion of local stability and resilience and helps to provide a diverse and skilled workforce.

Our education-focused development activities help to elevate the profile and importance of a good education within project area communities.

Papua New Guinea 

Through participation in the ITCS, we support the PNG Government in the development and maintenance of primary and secondary school facilities in host communities. In addition, we work directly with these communities to improve local education infrastructure through our Community Area Planning projects.

We also help local teachers to keep teaching. A change to PNG legislation in 2011 meant some experienced teachers were unable to continue teaching without further training. Since then, we have supported teachers from host community schools to complete this training.

We provide financial support to a selection of students wishing to complete a tertiary qualification in medicine, teaching, business, agriculture, plumbing and mechanics. Our sponsorship of their tuition, accommodation and travel makes a difference to many university students from communities close to our operations, who would otherwise not be able to complete their education. Recipients are nominated by host communities and we assess the applications to ensure they meet the entry requirements and that there is a balance of gender and village of origin.