Indonesia fears LNG data missing in New York

Indonesia fears LNG data missing in New York

JAKARTA (JP): The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center
in New York on Tuesday could lead to the disappearance of
documents on Indonesia's (LNG) deals, which are stored in the
building, a minister said on Wednesday.

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro
said the government was currently inquiring into the fate of
documents held by the LNG trustee borrowing agency at its office
in the building, which collapsed on Tuesday.

"We are looking into it ... I have spoken to those in America
but they said they would not be able to give us an answer in 24
hours, so we'll have to see in a couple of days," he told
reporters on the sidelines of a plenary meeting with the House of
Representatives.

Purnomo did not name the agency, which held the documents.

According to ministry officials, the agency, which is a
syndicate of American banks, handled the financing for the
development of the country's LNG centers as well as the payment
of Indonesia's LNG by buyers.

Purnomo noted, however, that he was still optimistic that the
documents would be recovered, saying the office that handles the
documents were big and that there should be a backup of the
documents.

Purnomo dismissed speculation that Indonesia's LNG businesses
would be affected if the documents disappeared along with the
collapse of the building.

"We should not dramatize this saying it will effect our LNG
trade," Purnomo said.

Indonesia is the world's largest LNG exporter with two LNG
centers in Bontang, East Kalimantan and Arun, Aceh. (tnt)