ExxonMobil ups tsunami donation

JAKARTA: U.S.-based oil and gas giant ExxonMobil will increase its cash donation for tsunami-hit nations in the region to more than US$9 million, the majority of which will go to hardest-hit Indonesia.

Visiting ExxonMobil vice president for Asia Pacific/Middle East R.M. Kruger told reporters here on Wednesday that the company had already donated $5 million, but it would contribute more by matching dollar-for-dollar donations made by its employees and suppliers worldwide.

The fund-raising program will close at the end of this month. So far some $2 million has been collected, meaning that ExxonMobil will match this amount.

"We're up to $9 million to date," said Kruger, who will be visiting Aceh for a couple of days to see the scale of the destruction caused by the Dec. 26 tsunami.

ExxonMobil, which recently surpassed General Electric as the largest U.S. corporate by stock market value in the wake of huge earnings from soaring oil prices, has been operating in oil-rich Aceh for more than 30 years. About 300,000 Acehnese were killed or declared missing as a result of the tsunami.

Part of the $5 million pledged by ExxonMobil has already been channeled to various overseas and local institutions to help finance emergency humanitarian relief operations.

Funds have been allocated to organizations such as the American Red Cross, Save the Children, UNICEF, UNHCR, along with a number of local Indonesian organizations, for the provision of medical supplies, heavy equipment, food supplies, temporary shelters, and teacher training.

Remaining funds will be used to help in the reconstruction of tsunami-hit areas. Kruger said that the company was now waiting for the government blueprint for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Aceh to avoid overlapping programs and ensure efficient use of funds. -- JP