ExxonMobil, Freeport ask Indonesian gov't for security assurance
Monday, September 24 2001 - 07:43 PM WIB
Following a meeting with President Megawati Soekarnoputri in Houston, Texas, on Sunday at noon (Monday at dawn in Jakarta), ExxonMobil president Harry Well said that the security guarantee had become indispensable for his company in tapping natural gasin Aceh province.
Well said he expected Jakarta to show greater responsibility in security matters for the continuation of ExxonMobil's operation, which had to be suspended for four months earlier this year because of security disruptions by armed civilian groups.
He said that his company had operated only two out of its four operation clusters, adding that he expected them to be back in full operation by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Freeport president James Robert Moffet maintained that security matters had become a focus of attention all over the world following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington on Sept. 11.
Moffet said both domestic as well as foreign companies in Indonesia urgently needed a guarantee for the safety of their operations, especially since the security factor had become vulnerable across the country as of late.
He pointed out that Freeport had invested US$6 billion in gold mining in Indonesia's easternmost province of Irian Jaya and employs 25,000 workers, mostly locals.
He said his company had always set up coordination with the local administration to make sure that no regulation was issued to disrupt investment in the province.
He said he appreciated the move to sanction a special autonomy law for Irian Jaya, and that Freeport would help accelerate economic development in the province.
During the meeting with Exxon and Freeport, Megawati was accompanied by Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh and Irian Jaya Governor Jaap Salossa. (*)