BP Migas, Lemhanas to adopt new security concept

BP Migas, Lemhanas to adopt new security concept

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Oil and Gas Implementing Body (BP Migas) and the National Defense
Institute (Lemhanas) have agreed in principle to adopt a new
concept aimed at boosting community participation in protecting
the assets of oil and gas companies operating in the country.

The new concept will be first applied at the Tangguh liquefied
natural gas (LNG) plant in Papua, which is being operated by
Anglo-American energy giant BP PLC.

"We will set Tangguh as the benchmark of this concept. But we
will (also) introduce it nationally, to other vital companies,"
BP Migas Chairman Rachmat Sudibjo said on Tuesday on the
sidelines of a seminar. BP Migas is the authority for the oil
and gas upstream sector.

Although bearing the word "security", the concept does not
mean recruiting people living around the oil and gas companies as
security guards. Instead, it draws on an idea of enhancing the
economic level of the community around it, so they will have a
sense of belonging to their neighboring companies.

"We have recorded cases such as burglary. The stolen things
like say, cables, may not be costly, but it could disrupt the
operations (of oil and gas firms)," said Rachmat. "If the people
have a sense of belonging to the company, they will together keep
it safe."

He said that such a concept had long been implemented for
community development projects, but community-based security
highlighted more on security issues.

BP PLC's vice president of government and public affairs for
Indonesia's office Satya W. Yudha said that for the Tangguh
plant, BP PLC had been committed to employ people from the
surrounding communities, so they would have a sense of belonging
to Tangguh.

"According to Tangguh's Amdal (environmental impact
assessment), one member of every family living in villages
directly affected (by the Tangguh project) is entitled to work in
Tangguh's construction project," he said.

Tangguh LNG field is located offshore in Papua's Bintuni
regency, surrounded by seven villages.

"The construction of Tangguh, which will take 38 months, will
be absorbed by an estimated 3,500 workers," said Satya without
mentioning how many surrounding community members would be
employed in the construction work.

He added that BP had also recruited 20 Papuan university
graduate engineers to work at Tangguh when it begins operating in
2007.