Security boosted for foreign energy and mining firms

Security boosted for foreign energy and mining firms

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government has stepped up security measures to guard the
facilities of multinational energy and mining firms across the
country over fears of terrorist attacks after the bomb blasts on
the tourist island of Bali.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said security had been increased at the
liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Arun, Aceh, which is partly
owned by U.S. energy firm ExxonMobil Corp.

"The Indonesian Army has taken steps to back up the police in
securing vital sites all over Indonesia, especially in the energy
sector because there is information the energy sector will be
targeted by terrorists," he was quoted by Reuters as saying on
Sunday.

Security has also been increased at the country's largest LNG
plant in Bontang, East Kalimantan, which is owned by a consortium
including by French firm TotalFinaElf, American energy firm
Unocal Corp. and Vico Indonesia, which is a subsidiary of Anglo-
American energy firm BP PLC.

Bambang also mentioned the mining facilities in Papua province
owned by the world's largest copper and gold mine, PT Freeport
Indonesia, a subsidiary of U.S.-based Freeport-McMoran Copper and
Gold Inc.

Sidik A. Nitikusuma, spokesman for the country's upstream oil
and gas authority, BP Migas, confirmed that security measures had
been intensified at all of the country's oil and gas facilities
following the bomb blasts in Bali that killed more than 180
people, most of them foreign tourists.

"Special attention is being given to the facilities owned by
U.S. and British firms," he told The Jakarta Post.

He did not say why efforts were being focused on firms from
these two countries, but many members of the public oppose a
possible U.S. attack on Iraq as part of its global war on
terrorism. Britain is the key supporter of the U.S. in its
possible attack.

Furthermore, the U.S. and British firms are the main players
in the country's oil and gas industry.

Among the U.S. energy firms operating in the country are
ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco and Conoco. ChevronTexaco, which
concentrates its operations in Riau, is the country's largest oil
producer, accounting for more than half of the country's oil
output of more than 1.2 million barrels per day.

The largest British energy firm operating in the country is
BP, which has large gas operations in East Java and Papua.

BP Migas had not yet made requests to the police or the
military to deploy personnel to back up security at the country's
oil and gas facilities because the situation is thus far normal,
Sidik said.

"We only asked the existing security guards to intensify their
coordination with the police and the military," Sidik explained.

Meanwhile, PT Newmont Nusatenggara, a subsidiary of American
mining giant Newmont Corp., which operates a copper and gold mine
on Sumbawa island, West Nusa Tenggara, said the company was
shocked by the Bali incident.

It, however, has no plans to evacuate its foreign workers
because of the incident, the company was quoted by Antara as
saying.