Riau students demand closure of CPP oil field

University students in Riau province have demanded the closure of the Coastal Plain Pekanbaru (CPP) oil field, if the central government rejected the proposal to give the provincial administration a majority stake in the oil field, Riau Pos reported on Tuesday.

In a meeting with the province's legislative council (DPRD), the representatives of the students asked the council to issue the closure order as soon as possible. "If the central government refused to give the majority stake to the provincial government, it is better to close the oil field," one of the student leaders said.

The representatives of the students gave the councilors one week to issue the closure order. "The Riau people want the closure of the oil field, and if the councilors rejected the closure, they are not the representatives of the people," another student leader said.

The protesters comprising of representatives of the Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN) and the University of Riau and several students associations such as the association of Islamic students and the association of reforming students made their protests after one of the council member expressed his support over the central government's plan to give the local government 20 percent interest in the CPP oil field.

The students said that the 20 percent interest allocated for the local government was too small given the fact that the province received only a little benefit from the operation of the oil field in the past 20 years.

The central government took over in October all issues related to CPP oil block after negotiations between the provincial administration of Riau and Pertamina failed to settle their difference over the ownership of the oil block.

The negotiations failed as both Pertamina and the local administration demanded a majority stake in the joint venture that will takeover the operation of the CPP from Caltex Pacific Indonesia when the current contract ends in August next year. (*)