Bojonegoro seeks 6% share from Exxon?s oil production

The regency-level administration of Bojonegoro is seeking a six percent share from oil production to be made by PT ExxonMobil from its Banyuurip oil field in Ngasem district, East Java, which is estimated to contain oil reserve of about 250 million barrels, Koran Tempo reported on Monday.

Bojonegoro regent H. Atlant said on Friday that the regency?s requirement to obtain six percent share from the Banyuurip oil production was based on the Law No. 25, 1999, which stipulated that the local regency administration had the rights to obtain six percent from the oil production obtained by Pertamina as the representative of the central government from oil production in the area.

Besides asking for a six-percent share from the oil production, the regency had also demanded ExxonMobil through it subsidiary PT MCL to register all their vehicles at the regency, the regent said.

"If the company did not listen to the demand, all the company?s vehicles carrying police numbers from outside the regency would not be allowed to operate in Bojonegoro," he said. But the regent said that his office and PT ExxonMobil had reached an agreement on the problem related to vehicle registration.

PT ExxonMobil, through its subsidiary PT MCL, took over the Banyuurip oil field in 2000 from PT Humpus Patra Gas, which obtained the contracts to develop and operate the field for 20 years until 2010.

The Bojonegoro regent complained that PT MCL as the operator of the oil field had never consulted with his office about its activities including that related the company?s plan to acquire villagers? land. (*)