Business as usual at foreign oil firms in Indonesia: Report

Foreign oil contractors in Indonesia are operating as usual despite a growing threat of anti-American violence in the world's most populous Muslim nation in the wake of the U.S.-led war against Iraq, a government agency said on Monday.

The United States said at the weekend it had received credible information that extremists might be planning attacks in Indonesia and urged Americans to consider leaving the country.

Australia also warned it had information that groups known to target Westerners could be planning "terrorist" activity in the city of Surabaya in East Java.

"The activities of foreign oil contractors working in Indonesia are so far as per usual. They seem to be taking a wait-and-see attitude," Sidick Nitikusuma, a spokesman for government agency BPMIGAS, told Reuters.

"We have told oil contractors to have a contingency plan (in place) in the event something unexpected happens," he added.

Recently formed BPMIGAS monitors the activities of foreign oil contractors in resource-rich Indonesia.

Among the biggest such firms are Caltex Pacific Indonesia, owned by America's Chevron Texaco, U.S.-owned Unocal Corp, British-owned BP and French-run TotalFinaElf.

An official from Indonesia's biggest oil contractor, Caltex Pacific, said: "There is no reduction in our activities in Indonesia and we have a contingency plan if something bad happens."

American-owned Exxon Mobil also said in a statement it had no plans to relocate staff.

Crude oil production in Indonesia, Asia's only OPEC member, reached 1.05 million barrels per day (bpd) in February, unchanged from January. Its production quota is 1.27 million bpd. (*)