'Oil Colonies' spring up where wells gush

By Raja Isyam Azwar

Riau has long been famous for its oil, a major source of foreign exchange for Indonesia, which in turn has made it a point of urbanization. As in other places, this source of black gold is a bonanza attracting people from the world over, making the quiet area quite a busy center of industry.

Colonization as a consequence of the oil industry does indeed have an extraordinary impact on the oil-rich areas. Oil exploitation concentration areas such as Rumbai, Minas, Duri and Dumai are developing rapidly.

Population growth is rapid. Duri City (subdistrict of Mandau, Bengkalis) and Minas (subdistrict of Minas, Siak) are extreme examples of this population boom. In 1990 Minas' population was 23,400 but in 2000, it has more than doubled to 48,000 people.

As has Duri. Its population has nearly doubled from 104,000 in 1990 to 195,000 in 2000.

One of public figures of Mandau, H. Mohd Khotbah Arrofie, said, "Previously, the forest was priceless in Sebanga (a Duri suburb). But now there is no forest let alone empty land. If there is, the price is very exorbitant."

Minas and Duri have develop rapidly, with markets, shopping centers and office buildings mushrooming.

Other areas following their lead are Rumbai and Dumai. Although not as rapidly as the two areas above, the existence of oil exploitation increases economic growth of the surrounding areas.

Quantity

There is a great number of oil workers in Riau. Most of them are employed by PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia (CPI) -- about 28,000. The remainder are employed by smaller companies, such as Kondur Petroleum (500 employees), Conoco and Expand.

PT CPI Vice President Corporate Human Resources Suwito Anggoro said, "Total permanent workers number 5,800, contract workers 24,000 and service-type contract workers 3,000 on average."

Education-wise, 2,700 are graduates, 4,600 undergraduates and the remainder senior high school graduates.

Suwito said that most workers are posted at Duri, which has a field with a very large well, producing 300,000 barrel per day, and Bekasap field, which absorbs nearly 60 percent of PT CPI's workers (20,000). This is followed by Minas 20 percent, Rumbai 15 percent and Dumai 5 percent (Support Operation).

Minas-Duri

Oil workers have been found in Riau since the Dutch colonial era and continued during Japanese occupation. In 1924, a consortium of Socal and Texaco through PT CPI carried out a survey and exploration around Minas and Duri.

In the Balai Raja village, history of Duri activities in the oil sector can be seen from the local graveyard. According to local elders, they were forced to build a road in the interest of oil exploration in this area.

"There have been many newcomers since 1943, mostly from Java, West Sumatra and North Sumatra," H. Mohd. Khotbah Arrafia said.

In line with the fast-growing oil exploration in these two areas, especially after the invention of "giant" oil fields in Duri (Duri Field, 1941) and Minas (Minas Field, 1942), their populations increased rapidly. Statistical data indicates that their growth rates have reached 7.88 percent for Minas and 6.66 percent for Mandau, Duri, annually. This is far above both Riau's average rate (3.79 percent) and the national rate (1.6 percent).

The Central Bureau of Statistics in Riau (BPS Riau) Head of Population Statistics, Togi Siahaan, said, "The urbanization rate is very high, much higher than the national one. It may match Batam's record (12 percent, editor)."

In addition, oil exploration also has a significantly positive impact on the local people's economy (unfortunately BPS Riau has never recorded concrete data on this economic growth rate).

However, as an illustration, oil-worker dissemination in Duri may serve as a model to describe the magnitude of the impact of oil exploration on surrounding areas. According to data from PT CPI, 60 percent of its workers and contractors are concentrated in Duri. Assuming that they spend 60 percent of their income for their daily needs, total money circulating in the local market reaches about Rp 18 billion to Rp 24 billion per month. This is very significant indeed for local economic growth.

"Generally, contractors rent their offices outside. They also go shopping at local stores. Stores and suppliers develop. Duri development is 50 percent directly attributed to CPI's workers at Duri," said Suwito.

Kurau

Different from Minas and Duri, oil exploration in Kurau subdistrict, Merbau, Bengkalis, and its surrounding areas does not seem to have a significant impact on regional development growth. The mines concession area of 11,800 square km, managed by PT Kondur Petroleum since 1970, seems not as strategic due to a hard terrain dominated by peat areas and the sea.

A very small production factor (only 15,000 barrels per day) and limited workforce (about 500 employees) cannot yet give any significant contribution to local development.

Life of oil workers

For laymen, the most prominent factor of oil workers is, of course, their welfare. In general, they have a higher economic level than workers in other sectors.

However, from another point of view, the life of oil workers is quite unique, especially that of site workers. A visit to the exploitation area of PT Kondur Petroleum in Kurau gives a portrait of their unique life.

Site workers have very tight schedules. After working shifts which can last weeks, they are off for two weeks. Working in remote areas, in forests and at sea is challenging. They are presented with basic human dilemmas. PT Kondur Petroleum Public Relations staffer, Priyadi S. Budi said jokingly, "Yes, it is quite hard to be at site for a long time, far from family, especially for bachelors, they only see monkeys."

This is even more so for employees posted at oil rigs facilities. PT Kondur Petroleum has its Ladinda, a supertanker with a capacity for 500,000 barrels, berthed at a bay. Employees work on board for two weeks (the writer was invited to spend a night there on July 31, 2000, and as soon as boarding, was given a detailed safety briefing, editor).

"Just imagine: eating, sleeping, working on top of thousands of barrels of oil. But this is a job," said Priyadi, explaining the heavy psychological burden the employees may have to bear.

Nonetheless, working in an oil company promises adequate pay. At staff levels, let alone higher levels, welfare is adequate. A Melibur-Kuru processing staffer, Arif, said as much. "Yes, it is quite adequate. It is above Rp 1 million, depending upon the job and position. For me, with one dependent, it is sufficient."

Even a gardener at an oil company receives an adequate salary if viewed from the average income in Indonesia. Edi, for example, working for a landscaper, one of PT CPI's contractors dealing with the company's premise cleanliness, said that his income reached Rp 650,000 per month.

Expatriates

Meanwhile, expatriate employees have a different lifestyle to the local workers. They earn much higher salaries.

The number of expatriates is quite high. At PT CPI, there are 190 -- 80 of whom are contractors. They frequently hang around the city with their friends or family at weekends.

Expatriates enjoy having dinner out in Riau and they usually visit special places or restaurants such as Rumah Makan Pondok Patin, Pondok Gurih, Restoran Hotel Aryaduta, Hotel Mutiara Merdeka and others.

At PT CPI, they are expert staff and usually employed on a contract basis for an average of four years. Their employment is based on the framework of transfer of know-how and technology.

Anthony Joseph Perez, one of expert staff seconded by Chevron to PT CPI, working since 1998 in Rumbai-Camp enjoys his work very much and catches interesting impression from his surrounding environment.

In reply to the writer's question, the man from Houston, Texas, USA, said that he spent his spare time enjoying sports, such as golf, bicycling and other recreational activities. "We've seen line racing in Kuantan Bay. Sometimes we go to Bukit Tinggi and Lake Maninjau (in West Sumatra). Sometimes we spend the night in one or several hotels in Pekanbaru and enjoy eating in restaurants," he said.

In addition, he added, he and his friends frequently visit local traditional events such as marriage ceremonies, sports competitions and buy souvenirs.

In his own words, the most interesting thing for Tony during his work in Riau is: "There are many challenges associated with working in Riau, but I believe it is still the adventure that the location adds to the work experience, which I find most interesting. We are challenged intellectually with the work because of technological changes, differences in language and cultural diversity and the impact of governmental and economic change. Finding a balance between these challenges means finding harmony and a sense of satisfaction at the end of the day for having met the challenge. Also, where else can one work with the latest technology and walk out of your office and see a jungle and wild animals like monkeys and monitor lizards!