Lampung expects revenue from offshore oil operation

The province of Lampung, one of the agribusiness centers of the country, expected to collect some additional revenue from the development of an oil reserve in the Seribu islands area, Neraca daily reported.

Head of the province's mining section Erwin Sutanto recently said the provincial administration was studying if the oil reserve, which was recently found by a foreign contractor, was located in the province's territory.

The paper did not name the foreign contractor.

"If the oil reserve is located in our territory, we shall be rich," Erwin said.

The Seribu Islands where the oil reserve was found is located on the border of Lampung, Jakarta and West Java provinces.

Under the new laws on autonomy and intergovernmental fiscal balance, the provinces will obtain some shares in the central government's revenue from the development of their natural resources. (*)