Aceh businessmen protest ExxonMobil over tender location

At least 37 local businessmen have protested the North Aceh-based natural gas producer ExxonMobil Oil Indonesia Inc (EMOI) for conducting its tender in Jakarta. The businessmen who are mostly involved in services said that joining the company?s tender in Jakarta was too costly for them, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Monday.

H. Syaiful Bahri Kalasuba, the vice chairman of the branch office of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (Kadin) in North Aceh, said over the weekend that the local businessmen had for several times asked ExxonMobil to open its tender in Lhokseumawe, the capital of North Aceh regency.

"Joining the tender in Jakarta was too costly," said, adding that the local businessmen had sent letters to the company, the governor of Aceh and to the province?s legislative council to protest the holding of a tender in Jakarta.

He said that the company had relocated the venue for its tenders to Jakarta for security reasons. "The reason is not true because thousands of ExxonMobil workers are still able to continue their activities," he said.

ExxonMobil, the main supplier of the Arun LNG plant, halted its operations for several months in 2001 due to the worsening of the security condition in the troubled province. (*)