Preparation for ExxonMobil's re-operation completes
Wednesday, May 30 2001 - 07:30 AM WIB
The preparation for the operation of ExxonMobil Oil's gas fields, which has been closed since early March due to security reason, has been completed. The company is expected to be able to resume the operation on June1, Koran Tempo reported Wednesday
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said in Jakarta on Tuesday that the preparation included the inspection of the pipeline facilities, which transmit the gas from the fields to PT Arun LNG Plant.
Speaking in a hearing with the House of Representatives (DPR), the minister said that a team comprising representatives from army, the government and ExxonMobil would soon visit the gas fields to conduct a final inspection.
"The team was scheduled to visit the gas fields this week but due to unfavorable situation in Jakarta, the team delayed their trip," he was quoted as saying by the daily.
According to the minister, the security situation in the troubled province of Aceh has showed improvement lately. The army members who had been posted to strategic locations in the province could now focus on the gas fields following the improvement of the security situation, he added.
He said that the full operation would be carried in stages, with the first priority would be conducted on the company's first cluster gas field and the North Sumatera Offshore (NSO) gas fields.
ExxonMobil, which operates five gas fields stopped its operation on March 8 due to the worsening of the security situation in the troubled province where members of the pro-independence Aceh have been fighting for decades to establish their own state.
The stoppage of the gas supply has caused a halt in the operation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Arun and several companies in the province.
Julia Tumengkol, the spokesperson of ExxonMobil, said on Wednesday that she was not sure whether the gas company could resume the operation on June 1. "Of course we have been ready for the reoperation, even now. But we don't know exactly when the operation will be started," she said.
According to her, the resumption relied on the security situation near the company's gas fields. "If the security situation improves that we will be able to re-operate the gas fields," he added.(*)