Angry residents burn Caltex vehicles as oil giant breaks promise

Jobless residents in Simpang Kopar of the Tanahputih district in Riau burned two trucks on Wednesday as Caltex Pasific Indonesia (CPI) management broke its promise to employ some of them, Riau Pos reported on Thursday.

The head of Caltex security team Killian Lumbangaol said the residents continued their protests on Wednesday night after the Caltex management told the villagers that it could not proceed with its plan to employ them because the agreement to provide them jobs was made under a threat.

The local people then seized four vehicles owned by the oil giant's contractor Tripatra and burned two of them, Killian said, adding that the situation in some areas in the district was getting tense as the angry protesters expressed their frustration over the oil giant's decision.

The unemployed residents blocking oil rigs and taking over 37 vehicles owned Caltex and its contractors agreed on Monday to end their week long protests after the company agreed to provide 75 of them with temporary jobs.

The villagers started the protests last week as their demand to get jobs from Caltex and its contractor was turned down. They set up blockades in the oil giant's five oil rigs and seized 37 vehicles in the Tanahputih, some 20 kilometers from the province's major city of Duri, The protests had caused a cut in the oil giant's crude oil production by about 15,000 barrels to 30,000 barrels per day.

Riau Pos also reported on Thursday that other residents in Sebangar village in the same regency refused the Caltex offer to pay compensation of Rp 2,500 per square meter of the land affected by the oil giant's project.

The residents had reported the local police they would stage a peaceful demonstration to pressure the company to pay a higher compensation money for them. The villagers previously demanded the oil giant to pay Rp 10,000 for every square of meter of their land. But the proposal was rejected. (*)