Energi Mineral forced to suspend exploration

By Bernard Loebs

Energi Mineral Langgeng (EML) has suspended exploration activities at the South East Madura block in East Java following protests by the local villagers, a senior official of upstream authority BPMIGAS said on Tuesday.

Elan Biantoro, BPMIGAS Chief Representative for Java, Bali and Nusa Tenggara region, said EML was drilling exploration well ENC-1 when it decided to suspend activities there.

?EML started drilling last April and has reached the depth of 5000 ft. The well is located close to the beach,? he said, adding that 5 percent of the block?s areas are located onshore, the rest offshore.

The local people protested the drilling activities on the grounds the contractor had not yet held the so-called ?socialization? program to inform them about the project. As a matter of fact, Elan said, the contractor had held such a program, but some members of local non-governmental organizations claimed the firm had not done it yet.

?Yesterday (Monday), we gathered 1,000 local people for the socialization program. The gathering was however not conducive that we decided to suspend the drilling,? Elan said.

PT EML, 49 percent owned by retired Army General Luhut Panjaitan, is the operator of the block with a 100 percent participating interest. The block was awarded to Energy Mineral in May, 2009. In the first three years of commitment, the company is to drill one exploration well

Editing by Johannes Simbolon