Four foreign oil firms want additional security personnel

Four foreign oil and gas firms with concessions in Aceh have requested reinforcement of security personnel in the province, following the bombing of two oil tanks owned PT Humpuss Aromatic in Lhokseumawe.

The president of state oil and gas firm Pertamina, Baihaki Hakim, said the four companies are Exxon-Mobil, BP-Amoco, Chevron-Shell and Texaco.

Baihaki said the reinforcement was a kind of precaution to prevent further destructive measures by irresponsible people like the burning of a bus owned by PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia (CPI) in Riau and the bombing of bombing of the two oil tanks owned by Humpuss in Lhokseumawe (Arun).

"Although we understand limitations in the National Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI), we ask for more troops, so that security forces could react quickly if something happens like that in Caltex and Arun," Baihaki said after signing a memorandum of understanding with a consortium of Indian Oil Corp.

He said Pertamina and its four foreign contractors had filed the request with President Abdurrahman Wahid. "So far, the President has been positive to our request."

Speaking at the opening of the Jakarta International Energy Conference on Monday, Abdurrahman promised to deploy more troops and take harsh measures against rioters or those trying to sabotage mining or oil exploration facilities.

The next day, Minister of Defense Yuwono Sudarsono urged companies in the energy sector to "cooperate" with TNI and Polri to improve security in their sites as the government could not yet guarantee safety for their operation. (*)