BPMIGAS-Kangean provide forest use compensation
Wednesday, September 12 2012 - 01:09 AM WIB
Upstream authority BPMIGAS and oil and gas company Kangean Energy Indonesia Ltd have provided a 59 hectare of forested area as a compensation to the forest area used by Kangean for oil and gas operation in Kangean Block, East Java.
The 59-hectare forest area is located in Sepanjang village in Sapeken district of Sumenep regency, Eat Java. It is to comply with the forest use regulation, in which the government rules that any use of forest area should be compensated with a forested area in similar size with the forest area being used for any economic activities.
BPMIGAS Deputy Chairman J. Widjonarko symbolically presented a report on the forest compensation to the forestry ministry?s Forestry Planology Director General Bambang Soepijanto in a ceremony held in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Present during the ceremony was Kangean?s Executive Vice President Hitoshi Kumada, and Gatot Subektiono, head of forestry department at the East Java provincial administration.
By completing the forest compensation, BPMIGAS hopes that the oil and gas project will get a forest use licence from the ministry of forestry. ?We hope the forest use licence will be issued soon,? said Widjonarko, adding that all oil and gas production sharing contractors should comply with the regulation of forest use.
?Upstream oil and gas industry which is capital intensive, long term and high risk in nature, needs a legal certainty to operate,? he said.
Bambang appreciated the forestry legal compliance by BPMIGAS and Kangean, saying that the oil and gas production is the big source of income for the state, however the PSC contractors should always pay attention to the need of environmental conservation.
Editing by Benget Besalicto Tnb.