Vital firms in Aceh resume operations<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Lhoksemauwe, Aceh<\/p>\n
Three of the five key firms in Aceh province have resumed
\noperations amid signs of an improving security situation.<\/p>\n
Fertilizer producer PT ASEAN Aceh Fertilizer (AAF) became the
\nthird firm to restart operations on Sunday, following the lead of
\nliquefied natural gas (LNG) plant operator PT Arun NGL Co. and
\nanother fertilizer producer, PT Pupuk Iskandar Muda (PIM).<\/p>\n
\"I'm sure the current situation (in Aceh) will become more and
\nmore favorable for businesses,\" Minister of Trade and Industry
\nRini Soewandhi said on Sunday in a ceremony to mark the restart
\nof the AAF plant in Lhoksemauwe, North Aceh regency.<\/p>\n
\"And it's the government's priority to see that vital firms
\nhere resume operations.\"<\/p>\n
She expected the two other key firms, pulp company PT Kertas
\nKraft Aceh (KKA) and PT Humpuss Aromatic, would soon start
\noperating again.<\/p>\n
The ceremony was also attended by Minister of Energy and
\nMineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Aceh governor Abdullah
\nPuteh, and top executives of state owned oil and gas company
\nPertamina, AAF, PIM and Exxon Mobil Indonesia Inc.<\/p>\n
AAF resumed production last week after closing its operation
\nfor nine months due to a halt in the supply of gas from the Arun
\nfields.<\/p>\n
Exxon Mobil Indonesia shut the gas fields down between March
\nand mid-July due to security threats in the restive province as
\nlocal rebels intensified their decade-old fight to win the oil-
\nrich province's independence from Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Exxon Mobil delivers some 90 percent of its gas to LNG
\nproducer Arun NGL, while the remaining 10 percent goes to AAF,
\nPIM, KKA and Humpuss Aromatic.<\/p>\n
Limited attacks are still occurring in the gas fields,
\ndeterring Exxon Mobil from producing gas at the normal rate of
\n1.6 billion cubic feet per day.<\/p>\n
AAF President Rauf Purnama and PIM president Hidayat Nyakman
\nboth agreed that the situation in Aceh was improving.<\/p>\n
The two said both companies planned to produce urea-based
\nfertilizer at their full capacities of 660,000 tons and 570,000
\ntons respectively later this year.<\/p>\n
\"But we must wait for the gas from the Arun fields to reach
\nthe normal supply of 63 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) from
\nthe current 55 mmcfd,\" Rauf said.<\/p>\n
At present, AAF is producing urea at 85 percent of its full
\ncapacity, or 561,000 tons, while PIM produces about 456,000 tons.<\/p>\n
PIM's output reached 220,000 tons last year, or just 48
\npercent of its target, because of a seven-month production halt.<\/p>\n
PIM resumed production in late August.<\/p>\n
Hidayat said PIM had also received a US$79.9 million loan
\ncommitment from three local banks, BNI, Bank Mandiri and BRI, to
\ncontinue the development of a second plant following improvements
\nin the security situation.<\/p>\n
He said the development of the PIM II plant would be completed
\nin August next year, with a production capacity of 570,000 tons.<\/p>\n
Work on the facility, which started in 1999, has been halted
\nthree times since 2000 due to security concerns.<\/p>\n
Separately, Arun NGL vice president Hasan Saad said the
\ncompany had only managed to deliver 51 LNG shipments to South
\nKorea and Japan last year, down from its initial target of 116,
\nor about 23.5 million metric tons, because of the Arun production
\nhalt.<\/p>\n
Hasan said the company expected to be able to make 108 export
\nshipments this year.<\/p>\n
Arun NGL resumed operations in July.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/vital-firms-in-aceh-resume-operations-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }