Shell accused of using Indonesia data in disputed oil block

Director of Oil and Exploration at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Novian Thoib said in Jakarta on Tuesday that Dutch oil company Shell might be using the Indonesian government's mineral data in acquiring oil and gas contract from the Malaysian government in the disputed Ambalat block, Kompas reported on Wednesday.

Novian said that in 1999, Shell obtained a contract from the Indonesian ministry of energy and mineral resources to explore oil and gas in the Ambalat oil block but the company sold the concession area to Italian oil company ENI in 2001.

The Malaysian government, which claimed the Ambalat oil block as part of its territory then awarded a similar contract to Shell to carry out oil and gas exploration in the same area.

"If the Dutch oil company Shell uses the mineral data provided by the Indonesian government in assessing the oil potential before repurchasing back the disputed area from Malaysia, it is unethical. It also means that Shell has used a stolen data from Indonesia," he said.

The Malaysian government's move to award a concession to Shell and a subsidiary of Petronas, the state owned oil company, to explore oil and gas in the Ambalat area, has caused a tension between Indonesia and its neighboring Malaysia. Both countries have deployed warships in the disputed Ambalat offshore area in the South Sulawesi sea. (*)