Ownership of Minerals and Petroleum in Papua New Guinea: The Genesis and Nature of the Legal Contraversy

Abstract

This article has three main purposes. The first is to outline some of the main factors contributing to the struggle over financial benefits. The second is to summarise some of the key issues likely to be canvassed in determining the legal question of ownership. The third is to examine some of the implications that might follow should the courts disturb the status quo and decide that customary landowners own not only the surface but also mineral and other resources below the surface of their land.