CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited, as the national petroleum and energy company, has a responsibility to drive development in this sector of the economy, and to provide direct financial benefits for the National Government and other stakeholders.
However, it also has the capability to finance the organisation’s related national content and general development activities such as rural electrification, specialist training, health infrastructure and community services support. When many people see its name, they possibly assume that the company’s only role is to ‘passively’ hold the State’s shareholding in actively operating oil and gas developments in the country.
However, as noted here, Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited is much more than an oil & gas company!
HEALTH SUPPORT
The impacts of Covid-19 in recent years demonstrated the fragility of the country’s health system and Kumul Petroleum donated more than K5 million to assist the national response to this pandemic, alongside its other health-related support initiatives.
Kumul Petroleum has an agreement with the Angau Memorial Hospital in Lae to provide funding of K15 million over 3 years to upgrade their cancer services and also donated K10 million to assist in the construction of a cancer treatment centre at Port Moresby General Hospital. An MOA signed with the National Department of Health and the Port Moresby General Hospital will provide K50 million over 5 years to establish a National Heart Centre. This facility was opened by HRH Princess Anne in May 2022 and renamed the Kumul Petroleum National Heart Centre.
Apart from these major health support initiatives, the company has funded other facilities in the country such assisting the Southern Highlands Provincial Health Authority to construct a building for a kidney dialysis unit, equipment to Nonga Base Hospital and donating ambulances to rural health centres.
KUMUL PETROLEUM ACADEMY
Kumul Petroleum recognised that the petroleum industry requires specialist trade skills not necessarily used by other industries in the country, skills that will increasingly be needed as petroleum projects come into operation in the coming years. This rationale drove the establishment of the Kumul Petroleum Academy at Idubada, alongside the Port Moresby Technical College, in 2015.
The Academy is a world-class training facility that graduates competency assessed junior technicians in electrical, instrumentation, mechanical and production disciplines. In 2018, a simulated Safe Live Processing Plant, costing K12.5 million, was installed to enhance the facility’s ability to train process technicians.
Sixty trainees have received UK City & Guilds accreditation since the Safe Live Processing Plant became operational in May 2019. ExxonMobil and Kumul Petroleum have sponsored male and female students at the Academy. On graduation, the first 2016 intake of 32 students under ExxonMobil and Kumul Petroleum scholarship programmes all found employment.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT
Over the years, Kumul Petroleum has supported cultural festivals, such as the Tufi Tapa and Tattoo Festival in 2022. The company has provided books through the Buk Bilong Pikinini organisation to primary schools and higher-level educational establishments, who have also been assisted with the donation of computers and other equipment such as that to Passam High School and the Lae University of Technology. Other community support has been in the form of finance or kind, such as the solar lighting kits provided to the management and children of PNG Life Care in Port Moresby.
SPORTS SUPPORT
Kumul Petroleum supports a number of sporting codes, enabling many community members to participate in matches within the country and overseas.
The company has continued to attend and sponsor annual charity fundraising golf events at courses in Lae and Port Moresby, Kumul Petroleum Charity Golf Challenge events have raised funds for causes such as Life Care PNG and the PNG Olympic Committee. Cricket has been supported for a number of years – during 2021 funding of K1.2 million for Cricket PNG assisted the national side with the preparations necessary for it to compete in the T20 World Cup.
Kumul Petroleum supports junior squash and tennis and well as rugby union. KPHL is the franchisee owner of the Kroton Hela Wigmen premier rugby league team in the PNG NRL Digicel Cup Premiership, it supports the PNG Hunters, the only Papua New Guinea team to compete in the QRL Hostplus Cup competition in Queensland, as well as a platinum sponsor of the Kumuls national rugby league team and supports activities in relation to the bid to get a PNG team into the Australian NRL competition. Kumul Petroleum has also provided support to other smaller rugby league clubs such as participation of the Port Moresby Vipers 9’s in a tournament in Brisbane, PRK Mendi Muruks, SHP Rugby 9’s, rugby games in Wapenamanda and contributions to the Ipatas Cup Highlands Challenge.
ELECTRIFICATION
Kumul Petroleum Holdings is a 50% partner with Santos Limited in the NiuPower power station just outside Port Moresby.
Kumul Petroleum Holdings supports the Government’s ambition to achieve the goal of 70% of the population having access to electricity by 2030, and also supporting the fuel switch – the use of gas as an interim fuel until the country’s renewable energy resources can be harnessed to generate electricity.
KPHL has constructed more than 165 kilometres of low voltage power transmission lines in the Hela and Southern Highlands provinces in recent years, enabling PNG Power to connect a large number of rural communities in these two provinces to the main high voltage Ramu grid transmission lines. The engagement of local companies in this construction work has been maximised wherever possible.
Transmission line construction continues elsewhere in the country, such as in New Ireland Province, where KPHL has an MOU with the New Ireland Provincial Government to develop a 5MW solar power system for Kavieng and surrounding communities.