Consultation and engagement

Wherever ExxonMobil operates, we work with stakeholders through consultation and act with respect toward individuals with diverse cultures.

Our Best Practices in External Affairs (BPEA) initiative focuses on building positive external relationships and is integrated with our Operations Integrity Management System. BPEA is our strategic planning and management tool for external affairs, which ensures implementation of consistent community awareness programs, including information provision, dialogue, and collaboration with local communities.

We believe engagement is a two-way communication and recognize the need for local populations to be able to voice and resolve concerns related to a project without fear of retribution. Our Upstream Socioeconomic Management Standard includes provisions for establishing a grievance mechanism where appropriate. While our BPEA engagements provide an important means to hear and address community concerns, grievance mechanisms provide a systematic and transparent process for local people to raise concerns, which can be addressed by the company within an appropriate time frame.

Indigenous peoples and cultural heritage
We value cultural heritage and customs in the communities where we operate and incorporate these considerations into project planning, design, execution, and ongoing operations.

The Papua New Guinea liquefied natural gas (PNG LNG) project area comprises a rich and diverse cultural mix of some 13 ethnic groups, 46 language groups, and more than 400 clans. Most of these communities rely primarily on subsistence-oriented production, maintain a close physical and spiritual relationship to ancestral territories, consider themselves as distinct lingo-cultural groups, and retain customary social and political institutions. The unique cultural heritage of these groups needs to be preserved for the benefit of current and future generations.

As part of the PNG LNG project’s pre-construction surveys, cultural heritage specialists conduct detailed studies in consultation with communities to identify areas and features of cultural and historic significance. This important phase of activity is conducted before approval being granted for project access to potential worksites. In some cases, the project facilities were re-designed to avoid features. To date, pre-construction surveys and reports have been finalized for 95 sites, and third-party experts have identified more than 1400 mitigation measures.

Once a site is approved and access granted, pre-construction surveys are again conducted before work is allowed to commence on-site. These surveys involve assessing each worksite, often with landowners, to further identify sites of significance such as burial grounds, sacred waterways, or areas containing artifacts. In populated areas, surveys include discussions with local people who are knowledgeable of the area. For known sites, the focus of the Cultural Heritage Management Plan is twofold: to avoid those sites which are to be protected from disturbance, and to establish the process for the compensation, management, clearance, and salvage of sites that are authorized by the government for disturbance. We work closely with the landowner or clan to determine appropriate mitigation measures, including customary ceremonies.

In addition to known cultural heritage sites, construction activities can disturb or alter unrecorded archaeological finds within the project work area. The project has agreed on a protocol for managing the preservation and appropriate treatment of these finds with the Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery. The protocol deems that, following analysis and documentation, any material found is transferred to the gallery.

Land use and resettlement
We respect property rights in the countries in which we operate. We strive to achieve free, prior, and informed consultation of impacted communities before we implement new operations. We seek to avoid resettlement through project design, and where resettlement is unavoidable, we seek to ensure appropriate restoration of livelihoods of displaced persons.

As a result of the PNG LNG project, we are currently engaging in resettlement activities. Resettlement may be necessary due to physical or economic displacement, involving the loss of shelter, assets, income streams, or means of livelihood resulting from land acquisition or obstructed access to economic resources (land, water, and forest). The PNG LNG project has made efforts to avoid resettlement activities wherever possible. However, when necessary, resettlement activities are conducted in accordance with international best practice, as defined by the International Finance Corporation Performance Standards on Social and Environmental Sustainability and the laws of Papua New Guinea. The project’s goal for resettlement is to give displaced people the opportunity to, at a minimum, restore their livelihoods and standards of living.

For communities where resettlement is deemed to be necessary, Resettlement Action Plans were developed based on local needs and circumstances, and in consultation with affected people. Customary land ownership is perhaps the single most important feature of Papua New Guinean society. The complex portfolio of land rights defines social identity, group membership, and access to resources such as forest, power, and ritual status. This unique social organization presents some challenges with resettlement and often requires a case-by-case approach.

For project-affected households, a nonprofit Papua New Guinean law practice acts as an independent advisor with respect to their rights, responsibilities, and options concerning resettlement in the context of both national Papua New Guinean legislation and the project’s plans and provisions. This assists households to better understand the resettlement process, particularly the valuation, compensation, and assistance options. The resettlement process also has a strong monitoring and evaluation component to achieve the project’s goal of livelihood restoration.

A total of 13 project locations were identified where resettlement is deemed to be necessary.