Oil industry to be provided telecommunication services

Oil industry to be provided telecommunication services

JAKARTA (JP): PT Elnusa, a subsidiary of the state-owned oil
company Pertamina, will establish a subsidiary to provide
satellite communication services for oil industry activities, an
executive says.

Elnusa's president, Aswad Dipo, told reporters here on
Saturday that the subsidiary, to be called PT Sistem Komunikasi
Satelit Perminyakan (SKSP), will be 40 percent owned by Elnusa,
30 percent by PT Telkom, the state-owned domestic
telecommunications company, 10 percent by PT Indosat, the state-
owned international telecommunications firm, 10 percent by the
Humpuss Group and 10 percent by the Panutan Duta Group.

"The investment for the subsidiary will be more than US$30
million," he said.

He said the subsidiary will be set up as soon as the Ministry
of Finance allows Telkom to participate in the satellite
telecommunications project.

SKSP, which will have its headquarters near the Gambir railway
station in Central Jakarta, will lease a transponder of one of
the country's Palapa satellites, he said.

Aswad said the project will provide clearer voice reception
than point-to-point facilities and its operation, therefore, will
help reduce telecommunications spending of companies operating
oil fields or exploring for oil reserves in remote areas.

He said that Elnusa recorded a steady increase in its assets
from Rp 50 million when it was established in 1969 to Rp 150
billion ($89.9 million) at present, including Pertamina's equity
of Rp 23 billion.

Elnusa, with its seven subsidiaries, has expanded its
operations into four cores of business, including geoscience;
engineering, communications and information technology; fuel and
chemicals; as well as construction management.

The subsidiaries comprise of PT Elnusa Workover Services, PT
Perta Insana, PT Elnusa Yellow Pages, PT Elnusa Multi Industri
Komputer, PT Elnusa Chemlink, PT Elnusa Schlumberger and PT Purna
Bina Nusa.

The Elnusa Group expects to gain total sales revenues of Rp
348 billion this fiscal year with an estimated profit of seven to
eight percent of the sales.

The group currently employs 1,720 people, including 820 at
Elnusa.

Elnusa Workover Services' president, Bambang Sukesti, said
that his company is currently serving Unocal in Thailand and Esso
in Malaysia with contract fees of about $5,000 per day to provide
field management and environment services. (icn)