TNI asked to guard Aceh's oil and gas operations<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Mines and Energy Minister Susilo
\nBambang Yudhoyono has asked the military to guard oil and gas
\noperations in the troubled province of Aceh amid growing tension
\ncaused by separatist activity in the area.<\/p>\n
\"I have asked the Indonesian military (TNI) chief to take care
\nof the facilities and the safety of the workers of the oil and
\ngas companies,\" Bambang said on Friday.<\/p>\n
Bambang earlier held a meeting with president of state oil and
\ngas company Pertamina Martiono Hadianto and the executives of
\nMobil Oil Indonesia, a subsidiary of American oil and gas firm
\nMobil-Exxon, which operates the giant liquefied natural gas (LNG)
\nplant in Arun.<\/p>\n
During the meeting, Pertamina and Mobil briefed Bambang on the
\nworsening situation in Aceh.<\/p>\n
More than one million Acehnese held a rally on Monday in the
\nprovincial capital of Banda Aceh to demand an East Timor-style
\nreferendum.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Reuters quoted a source at PT Arun NGL Co. in
\nSingapore as saying that PT Arun and Mobil Oil had evacuated some
\nstaff out of the province.<\/p>\n
The source said the families, including Indonesians and
\nAmericans, had left on either regular company or commercial
\nflights to Medan or Singapore.<\/p>\n
\"We have two or three regular flights that leave Lhokseumawe
\nto Medan and some families have left on them,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Lhokseumawe, the base of PT Arun, is situated in the heartland
\nof the Free Aceh Movement.<\/p>\n
He said not all the families of the less than 50 expatriates
\nemployed by PT Arun or Mobil Indonesia had left Aceh, despite
\nsigns of rising tension as a campaign for independence in the
\nresource rich province gains momentum.<\/p>\n
Fewer than 75 percent of the company's 1,600 full-time staff
\nare Acehnese.<\/p>\n
\"The situation is not that bad. The expatriates will not be
\nharmed by the Acehnese because they don't want to have any
\nproblems with the Americans,\" the source said.<\/p>\n
He said production at Arun NGL and condensate plants had not
\nbeen affected by the current troubles.<\/p>\n
Pertamina, in partnership with Mobil Corp. and a Japanese
\nconsortium, operates six Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plants with
\na production capacity of more than 11 million tons per year.<\/p>\n
Sources said PT Arun was slated to export 196 LNG cargo
\nshipments of 125,000 cubic metres each this year, with sales
\nprojected to fall to 121 cargo shipments next year due to
\ndeclining reserves.<\/p>\n
The Arun field's condensate production of about 42,000 barrels
\nper day (bpd) would fall to 30,000-bpd next year.<\/p>\n
TNI said it was withdrawing 600 troops from Aceh on Friday as
\npart of efforts to defuse tension in the area.<\/p>\n
The military was blamed for human right abuses in the province
\nduring the 32-year rule of former president Soeharto.<\/p>\n
According to the source, the Arun LNG complex, two fertilizer
\nplants and a paper and pulp factory were protected by a special
\nsecurity force of about 200.<\/p>\n
He said it was unclear if they were part of the 600 troops
\nJakarta was pulling out of Aceh. (03\/jsk)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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