Oceania · public research route

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is organized here as a Oceania research route covering 6 public-policy areas. The route begins with Mining, Oil & Gas (PNG LNG), Deforestation & Logging.

Executive summary

This page is a structured research guide to institutions, public frameworks, and possible lines of inquiry in Papua New Guinea. It supports rapid orientation and identifies where current primary-source verification is required.

Research-use notice. This material is for research and educational use. Information may be incomplete or out of date. Verify primary sources, current law, institutional authority, source dates, and local applicability before acting. This site does not provide legal, financial, investment, regulatory, or implementation advice.

Mining

Insider / Whistleblower

  • Report to CEPA (Conservation and Environment Protection Authority)
  • Document community impacts through local NGOs and customary landowner groups
  • Report through Barrick Gold/Newcrest compliance channels

CEPA — PNG's environmental authority. Department of Mineral Policy and Geohazards Management — mining regulator. Note: PNG's governance capacity is limited outside major urban centers.

Investor / Capital Allocator

  • Barrick Gold (Porgera), Newmont (Lihir), Ok Tedi Mining: Implement international environmental standards
  • Address legacy contamination
  • Adopt EITI enhanced reporting

Ok Tedi Mining Limited — operates Ok Tedi copper-gold mine (now community-owned). Barrick Gold — Porgera gold mine. Newmont (formerly Newcrest) — Lihir gold mine. ExxonMobil — operates PNG LNG.

Regulator / Agency

  • MRA (Mineral Resources Authority): Strengthen environmental conditions in mining leases
  • CEPA: Enforce environmental standards
  • EITI PNG: Expand to environmental data

MRA — the mining regulator. EITI PNG — member since 2014.

Policymakers / Treaty Forum

  • Contact your member of the National Parliament (111 members) to demand environmental bonds for all mining operations
  • Support customary landowner rights in mining negotiations
  • Advocate through Pacific Islands Forum for regional environmental standards
  • Push for international accountability for mining legacy contamination (Ok Tedi)

National Parliament of Papua New Guinea — unicameral, 111 members. PNG is a constitutional monarchy (King Charles III as head of state) with Westminster-style parliamentary democracy.

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Oil & Gas (PNG LNG)

Insider / Whistleblower

  • A finance or landowner-affairs officer inside Kumul Petroleum Holdings or the operator documents delayed or diverted royalty payments and reconciles booked vs. paid amounts
  • Files protected disclosure to the Ombudsman Commission of Papua New Guinea and the Public Accounts Committee
  • Provides contract and payment records to Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative validators

Kumul Petroleum Holdings, Ombudsman Commission of Papua New Guinea, Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee

Investor / Capital Allocator

  • Bondholders and lenders to ExxonMobil and Santos press for verified landowner-royalty escrow as a covenant condition
  • Apply IFC Performance Standards and Equator Principles to PNG LNG project finance
  • Discount equity for unresolved benefit-sharing and stabilization-clause liability

International Finance Corporation, Equator Principles lenders, Australian Securities Exchange (Santos listing)

Regulator / Agency

  • Department of Petroleum and Energy reopens fiscal terms at each project-phase approval and conditions licences on royalty delivery
  • Internal Revenue Commission audits transfer pricing and stabilization-clause tax effects
  • Bank of Papua New Guinea enforces foreign-exchange repatriation of resource earnings

Department of Petroleum and Energy, Internal Revenue Commission, Bank of Papua New Guinea

Policymakers / Treaty Forum

  • Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative requires contract and payment disclosure as a membership condition
  • IMF Article IV reviews press for sovereign-wealth-fund discipline on gas revenue
  • Pacific Islands Forum coordinates regional standards on resource fiscal terms

Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, International Monetary Fund, Pacific Islands Forum

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Deforestation & Logging

Insider / Whistleblower

  • A PNG Forest Authority or provincial lands officer exposes leases issued without clan consent or over-quota log exports
  • Reports to the Ombudsman Commission and the National Forest Board
  • Supplies shipment and permit data to chain-of-custody auditors

PNG Forest Authority, Ombudsman Commission of Papua New Guinea, National Forest Board

Investor / Capital Allocator

  • Buyers and traders require Forest Stewardship Council or verified-legal certification before purchasing PNG logs
  • Banks financing logging concessions screen for Special Agriculture and Business Lease legality
  • Importers apply EU Deforestation Regulation due diligence to PNG timber

Forest Stewardship Council, EU Deforestation Regulation importers, commercial timber-trade financiers

Regulator / Agency

  • PNG Forest Authority suspends export permits for concessions on contested leases
  • Conservation and Environment Protection Authority enforces environmental conditions and forest-clearance limits
  • Acts on the Commission of Inquiry into Special Agriculture and Business Leases to revoke fraudulent titles

PNG Forest Authority, Conservation and Environment Protection Authority, Department of Lands and Physical Planning

Policymakers / Treaty Forum

  • EU FLEGT and the EU Deforestation Regulation gate market access on verified-legal timber
  • UN-REDD and FAO fund standing-forest payments and monitoring
  • Convention on Biological Diversity reporting tracks forest loss against PNG commitments

EU FLEGT, FAO / UN-REDD Programme, Convention on Biological Diversity

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Fisheries / Overfishing (tuna)

Insider / Whistleblower

  • An observer or National Fisheries Authority officer reports transshipment fraud, under-reported catch, or licence violations
  • Discloses vessel-monitoring gaps to the Forum Fisheries Agency
  • Provides logbook and observer data to regional compliance reviews

National Fisheries Authority, Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, on-board observer programmes

Investor / Capital Allocator

  • Cannery and retail buyers require Marine Stewardship Council certification and verified catch documentation
  • Investors in PNG onshore processing condition capital on legal-sourcing and labour standards
  • Insurers price illegal-fishing exposure into distant-water-fleet coverage

Marine Stewardship Council, onshore cannery investors, marine insurers

Regulator / Agency

  • National Fisheries Authority sets vessel-day fees, observer coverage, and port-state inspections
  • Enforces catch documentation and transshipment controls at PNG ports
  • Suspends licences of vessels caught fishing illegally

National Fisheries Authority, PNG Customs Service, PNG port-state control

Policymakers / Treaty Forum

  • Parties to the Nauru Agreement coordinate the vessel-day scheme and effort caps
  • Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission sets regional stock and effort rules
  • FAO Port State Measures Agreement closes ports to illegal-catch vessels

Parties to the Nauru Agreement, Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, FAO Port State Measures Agreement

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Palm Oil

Insider / Whistleblower

  • An estate or mill officer reports clearance of primary forest or coerced land deals
  • Discloses non-compliance to Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil complaints panels
  • Provides traceability records to buyers and auditors

New Britain Palm Oil Limited estates, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil complaints system, Oil Palm Industry Corporation

Investor / Capital Allocator

  • Buyers require certified deforestation-free supply under EU Deforestation Regulation due diligence
  • Lenders condition estate finance on Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil certification
  • Equity holders in listed parent companies press for verified no-clearance sourcing

EU Deforestation Regulation importers, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, agribusiness lenders

Regulator / Agency

  • Conservation and Environment Protection Authority enforces environmental impact conditions on new plantings
  • Oil Palm Industry Corporation supports smallholder schemes and price transparency
  • Department of Lands reviews customary-land lease legality for estates

Conservation and Environment Protection Authority, Oil Palm Industry Corporation, Department of Lands and Physical Planning

Policymakers / Treaty Forum

  • EU Deforestation Regulation gates market access on deforestation-free palm oil
  • FAO supports sustainable smallholder agronomy and certification
  • Convention on Biological Diversity reporting tracks lowland forest conversion

EU Deforestation Regulation, FAO, Convention on Biological Diversity

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Tax Havens / Offshore Finance

Insider / Whistleblower

  • A tax or finance officer inside a resource operator exposes transfer mispricing or shell-company loan structures
  • Reports to the Internal Revenue Commission and the Financial Analysis and Supervision Unit
  • Supplies related-party contract data to auditors

Internal Revenue Commission, Financial Analysis and Supervision Unit, Ombudsman Commission of Papua New Guinea

Investor / Capital Allocator

  • Institutional holders demand published effective tax rates and country-by-country reporting
  • Apply tax-transparency and responsible-tax standards to portfolio resource companies
  • Discount equity for aggressive base-erosion exposure

Australian Securities Exchange listed parents, responsible-tax investor coalitions, GRI tax-transparency standard

Regulator / Agency

  • Internal Revenue Commission runs transfer-pricing audits and enforces thin-capitalization limits
  • Bank of Papua New Guinea monitors cross-border related-party flows
  • Securities Commission of Papua New Guinea enforces disclosure on listed entities

Internal Revenue Commission, Bank of Papua New Guinea, Securities Commission of Papua New Guinea

Policymakers / Treaty Forum

  • OECD Inclusive Framework brings PNG into country-by-country reporting and the global minimum tax
  • Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering reviews enforcement against illicit flows
  • Global Forum supports automatic exchange of financial-account information

OECD Inclusive Framework on BEPS, Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering, Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information

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Research references

Use the public glossary for terminology and the selected publications and working papers for public evidence and methods.