U.S., British firms close local offices<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan and Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
U.S. and British companies temporarily closed their offices
\nhere on Monday as a precautionary measure amid threats from local
\nradical groups following the U.S.-led strikes on Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
Some have prepared evacuation plans should the situation
\nworsen.<\/p>\n
State oil and gas company Pertamina spokesman L. Hariyanto
\nsaid that U.S. oil and gas firms ExxonMobil Indonesia Inc.,
\nUnocal Indonesia Co. and Devon Corp. had temporarily closed their
\noffices in Jakarta until further notice, although their oil and
\ngas fields were operating normally.<\/p>\n
He said that British-American oil and gas firm BP had opened
\nits office but was operating with a skeleton staff.<\/p>\n
Hariyanto said that Pertamina had asked all oil and gas
\ncompanies operating in the country to continue working normally
\ndespite the threats.<\/p>\n
\"We've sent letters to them all telling them to keep their
\noffices open and the oil pumps operating in their fields,\" he
\ntold The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Pertamina also encouraged companies to set in place the
\nnecessary safeguards for expatriates based upon guidance from
\ntheir respective embassies, he said.<\/p>\n
\"We will continue to coordinate with the National Police. We
\nhope the situation will not get any worse, otherwise we may
\nevacuate foreign workers,\" he said.<\/p>\n
A major disruption in the country's oil and gas production
\nwould have a severe impact on the economy.<\/p>\n
Late Sunday, the U.S. attacked Afghanistan, the hiding place
\nof Saudi Arabia-born multimillionaire Osama bin Laden, the prime
\nsuspect in last month's terrorist attacks on New York and
\nWashington. The British government and other western countries
\nsupported the attack.<\/p>\n
Local radical groups had earlier threatened to attack U.S.
\ninterests and citizens here if the U.S. government went ahead
\nwith its plan to strike Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, PT Coca Cola Amatil Indonesia's official who
\nrefused to be named said that his company had instructed its
\nforeign employees to take a day off for their own safety.<\/p>\n
The company had also prepared a contingency plan to evacuate
\nexpatriate employees if the situation deteriorated.<\/p>\n
\"But we don't want to panic. We always keep an eye on the
\nlatest situation,\" he said.<\/p>\n
A source at cigarette producer PT British American Tobacco
\n(BAT) Indonesia said that BAT's offices in Jakarta only opened
\nfor a half day on Monday to avoid any \"unexpected incidents\"
\nbefalling its employees.<\/p>\n
But the source said that the company's factory in Cirebon,
\nWest Java, remained in operation, and the Jakarta office would be
\nopen as normal on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Siddharta Moersjid, spokesman for PT Freeport
\nIndonesia, a subsidiary of New Orleans-based Freeport-McMoRan
\nCopper & Gold Inc., said that Freeport had not considered closing
\nits offices or its gold and copper mine in Irian Jaya.<\/p>\n
\"It's business as usual for us. We think the situation is
\nstill normal,\" he told the Post.<\/p>\n
However, he said, the company would continue to monitor the
\nsecurity condition seriously.<\/p>\n
Freeport, the largest gold and copper mining firm in the
\ncountry, operates its mine in Irian Jaya province. It has about
\n90 foreign employees out of a total of 9,000 workers.<\/p>\n
Other U.S. firms which did not close their offices include PT
\nCaltex Pacific Indonesia (CPI), which is jointly owned by Chevron
\nCorp. and Texaco Inc.<\/p>\n
CPI, the largest oil producer in Indonesia, operates in Riau
\nprovince.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/us-british-firms-close-local-offices-1447899208",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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