Caltex suffers production loss of 30,000 bpd due to protests
Saturday, November 4 2000 - 04:00 AM WIB
Caltex Pacific Indonesia suffered a loss in crude oil production of about 30,000 barrel per day (bpd) when residents' protests at the oil giant's oil fields in Riau reached its peak recently, Media Indonesia reported on Saturday.
Wahyudi Yudiana said in Jakarta on Thursday that the protests, which have become a common scene in most parts of the oil giant's oil fields in the province, could no longer be tolerated because they did not only cause a halt in the production activities but had also caused a damage in important production facilities.
According to him, a series of demonstrations which has taken place the oil giant since early this year has caused a major loss to the company. Although some of the protests were not so big in nature but their impacts were fatal, causing closure of production activities in most of oil rigs in the area because the blockage in roads leading to the oil production site had prevented workers from doing their jobs.
"If a blockage takes place for five days, we have no choices but to close all the oil rigs because it will be dangerous to let them operate without the care of workers," he was quoted as saying by the daily.
A series of demonstrations has taken place in Caltex's major production sites in the provinces as the local people felt negotiations could no longer solve their problem. The protests were first staged by the oil giant's workers early this year demanding a higher pay. The protests, some carried out by young people seeking for jobs or by villagers demanding a fair compensation for their land, have since become a common scene in the oil giant's production units.
Wahyudi said the police and the local authority should take a firmer action on the protesters, if not the protests would continue to haunt the company's oil production activities. "This will not only cause a loss to Caltex but will also further damage the image of Indonesia, which has been widely known as a high risk country.
In a normal situation, Caltex, the country's largest oil producer, produces about 700,000 bpd. (*)