Pertamina told not to sell LNG without approval from Irianese
Friday, September 29 2000 - 04:00 AM WIB
The Environmental Impact Management Agency's Irian Jaya office (Bapedalda Irian Jaya) has warned state oil and gas firm Pertamina and its contractors for not selling liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Tangguh plant in Berau Gulf, Irian Jaya, into the international market without securing approval from local people.
An official at Bapedalda Irian Jaya, Moh. Ali Kastella, said in Jayapura, the capital of Irian Jaya, on Thursday that Pertamina and its contractors BP Amoco and Arco had gone ahead with their plans to build the Tangguh plant and sell the LNG products from the plant to a number of countries despite the fact that they had not yet compensated local people who claimed that their lands had been used for the projects.
Besides, Ali Kastella said Pertamina and its contractors had not yet conducted environmental impact analysis (Amdal) over its operation there. He added that the government had asked Pertamina and the contractors to conduct Amdal to prevent uncontrolled pollution to the sea and mangrove forests in their operation areas.
Ali Kastella noted that areas of the gas exploration and exploitation sites were homes of various fauna and flora that had been living there for centuries. Besides, local people had depended their lives to the natural richness of the areas.
"If the people's aspirations are not heard by Pertamina and the contractors, it is feared that this could hamper their operation in the future," he said.
He noted that the Irianese did not want to see the Freeport case to happen again in their land, in which their natural resources were exploited and sold without leaving significant amount for local people.
Pertamina, through BP Amoco, has teamed up with Arco of the United States to build physical infrastructure to support the Tangguh LNG plant in Berau Gulf, surrounded by three districts, namely Manokwari, Sorong and Fakfak.
They have found 15 old wells, with gas reserves of up to 18.3 trillion cubic feet, the largest gas reserves in the Asia Pacific region. They plan to produce and start selling the LNG beginning in 2003. (*)