Mineral Resources Development Company

Mineral Resources Development Company Limited (MRDC) was established in 1975 and is 100% owned by the Government of Papua New Guinea.

It was initially established as the State Nominee to acquire the State and Landowner equity interests in mining and petroleum projects and to manage the equity funds for landowner companies from the major resource development areas of PNG. However, the State’s equity has since been transferred to Petromin PNG Holdings Ltd, so the focus of MRDC is now the management of the Landowner equity interests in both mining and petroleum projects.^[1]

MRDC is governed by a Board of Directors, which is chaired by Simon Tosali, who was appointed in 2004. Since March 2008, the Managing Director of MRDC has been Augustine Mano. In October 2011, Mano’s appointment was terminated by acting Prime Minister Belden Namah, upon allegations that the MRDC had made improper investments under his management. However, Mano was reinstated a week later by Prime Minister Peter O’Neill.^[2][3]

History

The major interests of MRDC were partially privatised in 1996, through the creation of Orogen Minerals Limited (OML), of which the MRDC holds a 51% controlling shareholding. In April 2002, Orogen merged with Oil Search Limited (OSL), but MRDC retained an 18.1% stake in the new company. OSL is PNG’s largest oil and gas producer.

MRDC was again restructured in 2007, with the formation of Petromin PNG Holdings Limited, which took control of the last State asset, the 20.5% equity interest in the Moran Petroleum Project. As a result of this restructuring, MRDC’s chief role became the management of Landowner interests.^[4]

Investments and Subsidiaries

MRDC’s combined group investment portfolio increased from K678.95 million in 2007 to K1,021.7 billion in December 2010.^[5]

The following subsidiary companies are held by MRDC to manage the equity interests for landowners:^[6]

• Mineral Resources Star Mountains Limited (MRSM) - 2.5% interest in the Giant Ok Tedi Copper Mine;
• Mineral Resource Ok Tedi No:2 Limited (MROT) - 2.4% interest in Ok Tedi Copper Mine;
• Mineral Resource Enga Limited (MRE) - 5% interest in the World Class Porgera Gold Mine;
• Petroleum Resources Kutubu Limited (PRK) - 6.75% equity interest in Petroleum Development License 2;
• Petroleum Resources Gobe Limited (PRG) - 2.0% equity interest in Petroleum Development License 4 Gobe Oil fields;
• Petroleum Resources Moran Limited (PRM) - 2.0% interest in Petroleum Development License 5; and
• Mineral Resource Madang Limited (MRM) - 2.5%.

MRDC directly holds a 2.78% stake in the Papua New Guinea Liquefied Natural Gas Project (PNG LNG Project), which aims to commercialise gas reserves in the Southern Highlands and Western provinces of PNG. The project is operated by Esso Highlands, a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation^[7] and is expected to begin production by 2014.^[8]

Controversies

In September 2011, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill directed the Attorney General Allan Marat to investigate allegations that the MDRC had squandered Landowners’ monies through imprudent and improper investments. The allegations include the purchase of a 50% stake in a helicopter company for PGK70 million, which appeared to have an actual value of PGK30 million.^[9] The MDRC has denied any involvement in corrupt payments or deals.^[5]

References