After Tangguh, Britain sounds out more investment
Tuesday, January 30 2001 - 04:30 AM WIB
After a huge investment in liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Tangguh, Manokwari, Irian Jaya, British investors will be encouraged to invest more in various sectors in Irian Jaya, including in oil and gas as well as mining sectors.
British Ambassador to Indonesia Richard Gosney told a meeting of Irian Jaya officials in Jayapura that he would explore more investment opportunities in Irian Jaya, and then he would fly back to Britain and inform those opportunities to British investors.
He said would travel to a number of places in Irian Jaya, including Tangguh, where the Tanguh LGN plant is located, Sorong, Timika and Fakfak to explore business opportunities that could be tapped by British investors.
When commenting on the Tangguh LNG plant, Gosney said that Tangguh would become a huge project, whose size would match with that belonging to giant gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia in Timika.
BP Amoco of Britain, representing state oil and gas firm Pertamina, has teamed up with Arco of the United States to build physical infrastructure to support the Tangguh LNG plant in Berau Gulf, surrounded by three districts, namely Manokwari, Sorong and Fakfak.
The plant would process natural gas produced in Tangguh into LNG. Tangguh has gas reserves of up to 18.3 trillion cubic feet, the largest gas reserves in the Asia Pacific region. They plan to produce and start selling the LNG beginning in 2003.
"My one-week visit in Irian Jaya is to sound out business opportunities in other areas (besides Tangguh). I will travel to Timika, Sorong, Manokwari and Fakfak to see business prospects in those areas. Then, next week, I will go to Britian to have a meeting with businessmen there. I will explain to them the actual situation of natural resources and also business opportunities here and will ask them to go here," Gosney told the meeting attended by, among others, Irian Jaya governor JP Solossa, Irian Jaya legislative council deputy speaker John Ibo, Trikora (Irian Jaya) military deputy commander Brig. Gen. Karel Ralahalu and Irian Jaya police chief Brig. Gen. Made Mangku Pastika.
In the meeting, Gosney reiterated that his government supported a united Indonesia, and therefore it would never support separatism in Irian Jaya and other parts of Indonesia. (*)