Unocal lambasted for not reporting its rigs to Bontang administration

The Bontang mayoralty councilors in East Kalimantan lambasted oil and gas company PT Unocal Indonesia for not reporting the existence of three oil and gas rigs respectively in the Melahin, Kendidingan, and Serang fields to the local administration, the local Kaltim Post daily reported Thursday.

The paper quoted councilors as saying that since Bontang had been separated from the Kutai Kertanegara regency in 1999, the three rigs which were located in the waters of the Bontang administrative area should be reported to the administration.

The paper quoted head of the council?s commission B Jaffaruddin Usman as saying there seemed to be some efforts by certain parties to prevent the Bontang administration from receiving the full benefit of the oil and gas resources in the area.

The paper said that the three rigs produced 5,000 barrels of crude oil per day, and gas production was 15,000 barrel of oil equivalent per day.

Jaffaruddin said that this would not make Bontang only as the producer of natural gas but also the producer of oil.

Meanwhile, other legislators called on the administration to go to Jakarta to resolve the issue, and demanded the central government to fulfill Bontang?s rights on the revenue from the three Unocal oil and gas rigs.(*)