Caltex?s oil pipeline cut off as protests continue
Thursday, June 14 2001 - 04:46 AM WIB
Caltex spokesman Renville Almatsier said in Pekanbaru that the pipeline disconnection was found on Wednesday after the pipeline leakage caused a major oil spill in the location.
He said that it was not yet known who cut off the pipeline. But he said that the company found a notice on the leaked pipe, threatening the American oil giant to stop the operation in the area.
The notice says: ? this is the first warning, the next one, someone could be killed.?
Renville said that the incident and the threat had been reported to the police but the damaged pipeline could not be repaired immediately because the oil field was still under the control of protesters.
A group of youth still blocked the road leading to the oil production area, which also included the Sintong well as their protests over the reluctance of the company to hire local residents. The blockade which has been taken place for more than two weeks continues as negotiations have failed to produce any good results.
Caltex has become the target of the people?s protests since the fall of President Soeharto in 1998. The local people did not only carried out mass protests. They also often blocked the company?s oil wells if the company refused to meet their demands, which are mostly in the form of seeking compensation for their land, or merely for being rejected to work in the company.
During the Soeharto era, the people were often forced to give up their properties to make a way for the oil exploration and production activities.
Caltex said it has suffered a production loss of about 40,000 barrels per day (BPD) due to local residents? resentment against its activities. (*)