'No illegals' in Premier Oil

'No illegals' in Premier Oil

JAKARTA (JP): State oil and gas company Pertamina denied on
Thursday reports that British energy company Premier Oil was
employing foreign workers illegally.

Spokesman for Pertamina's directorate in charge of the
supervision of foreign oil and gas contractors, Sidick
Nitikusuma, said that after investigating the reports, the
directorate had not found any illegal workers in the company, as
reported by The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

The Post, quoting an anonymous source, saying there were 15
British nationals who had been working for the company since last
year without proper work permits.

Premier Oil's president, Rab Speirs, went to Pertamina to
clarify the report, said Sidick.

Speirs was quoted by Sidick as saying that six of the 15
workers did not need work permits because they were here on
working visits from Premier's head office, and three of the six
had returned to Britain.

He added that five of the 15 were working for Premier Oil on a
temporary basis with their working permits were being applied
for.

The final four of the 15 were not working for Premier Oil but
for a contractor. One of the four reportedly did not have a work
permit. (jsk)