Riau- Natuna gas operators meeting delayed until January 21
Saturday, January 5 2002 - 02:16 AM WIB
Kadir Salim, the head of the Commission IV of the Riau legislative council, said in Pekanbaru on Friday that the team, which is known as the Migas Team, would seek a first-hand information related to the gas production and the existing gas reserves on the island during the meeting.
According to him, the local administration has not yet received even a single cent from the operation of gas fields on the island, which is part of the province.
A consortium of world?s major oil and gas companies including Conoco, Gulf Indonesia Resource and Premier Oil are currently developing massive gas fields off the island.
US energy giant ExxonMobil is also operating offshore East Natuna gas field which has a massive reserve waiting for buyers.
Gas fields operated by Conoco, Premier and Gulf have started production. Conoco sells its gas to Malaysia and Singapore while Premier and Gulf sell their gas to Singapore.
According to the autonomy law, the provincial administration will receive 30 percent of the government revenues received from gas production obtained from on-land gas production and off-shore gas fields located less than 12 miles from the shore.
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said that the gas developments off Natuna islands are in full control of the central government because they are all located outside the 12 miles economic zone.
The Riau government, however, insists that the local government is entitled to receive the 30 percent revenue split. Of the 30 percent revenue given to the local government, six percent must go to the regency where the gas production areas are located, 6 percent to nearby regencies in the provinces and three percent to the provincial administration.(*)