Unocal in agreement with local people

Unocal in agreement with local people

JAKARTA (JP): Oil and gas company PT Unocal Indonesia, has
agreed to provide community development programs for the
villagers of Marangkayu district, East Kalimantan as part of a
plan to settle the environmental dispute between the villagers
and the company.

Unocal said in a statement on Friday that the company and
state oil and gas company Pertamina had reached the agreement
with the provincial council on Thursday.

The meeting between the companies and the council, which was
also attended by the province's police chief and military
commander, was held in the provincial capital of Samarinda
following the police action on Sunday to end the fourteen-day
blockade by the villagers of the company's facilities in
Marangkayu.

The villagers had been blockading the channel which is used by
Unocal to send supplies to its offshore oil rigs, to pressure the
company to pay compensation for the alleged pollution of the
villagers' farmland.

The police broke up the blockade on Sunday in an action during
which police officers reportedly opened fire on villagers with
rubber bullets.

During Thursday's meeting with the council, Unocal said that
it, Pertamina and the council had agreed that a committee of
community leaders from the villages of Semangkok and Sebuntal in
Marangkayu, should decide which community projects will be
financed by Unocal.

"This is exactly the kind of long-term partnership that we
want. We are not interested in short-term fixes that benefit only
a few individuals

"Local community leaders are the right people to decide which
projects get funded to ensure that the needs of the entire
community are met," said David Stangor, Unocal's general manager
in Balikpapan.

It remained unclear, however, whether the villagers would
accept the agreement reached by Unocal, Pertamina and the
council.

Unocal, a subsidiary of American energy giant Unocal Corp,
whose operations in Indonesia are centered in East Kalimantan, is
known for its pioneering work in deepwater oil development. The
company recently said it had allocated US$1.5 billion over the
five years from 1997 to 2002 to develop the country's oil and gas
resources.

Caltex

Separately, oil and gas company PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia
said in a statement that the villagers of Kopar, Riau, who were
demanding jobs from the company and its contractors, continued on
Friday to blockade the Rangau water treatment plant and drilling
rigs owned by the company.

The demonstrators had also illegally seized some equipment and
seven vehicles owned by the company.

"An employee, who was performing routine checks on equipment
meters in the Petani field, eight kilometers away from Kopar, was
briefly held yesterday (Thursday) but was later released," Caltex
said.

The company also said that demonstrators had violated the
"basic human rights" of its workers by barring them from entering
and leaving the water treatment plant.

Discussions between the demonstrators and the company,
facilitated by the police and local authorities, had thus far
failed to bear fruit as the demonstrators were insisting on
immediate employment by Caltex's contractors.

Caltex said its contractors had few jobs to offer to the
villagers at present and that they had actually already
prioritized the locals in their recruitment programs.

Caltex noted that the villagers of Bangko, who had also been
blockading two company drilling rigs starting last week, had put
an end to their action and released the rigs' crews.

But, the company said, it was still engaged in tough
negotiations over their demands for jobs.

"Caltex's position continues to be in accordance with the laws
and regulations of the Republic of Indonesia and the company will
not negotiate under pressure, threats, intimidation or other
illegal acts," the company said.

Caltex, whose operations are centered on Riau, accounts for
more than one half of the country's around 1.3 million barrels
per day of oil output. (jsk)