Vice Minister urges MoT to review Cilamaya Port project

By Godang Sitompul

Vice Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Susilo Siswoutomo urged the Ministry of Transportation (MoT) to review the planned Cimalaya Port project in Karawang, West Java, as it could disturb the operation of the Offshore North West Java (ONWJ) oil and gas block.

Susilo said that the port project must not disrupt the production of the ONWJ block, which is operated by PT Pertamina Hulu Energi ONWJ. ?We have asked the Ministry of Transportation to review the plan to develop the Cimalaya Port,? he told Petromindo.com.

The government via the Ministry of Transportation plans to build a sea port in Cimalaya to help deal with the congestion at the country?s main Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta. Construction work was expected to start next year.

PHE ONWJ has previously expressed similar concerns. PHE ONWJ has a total of four Onshore Processing Facilities (OPF) including one in Cilamaya and the firm is now aggressively carrying out exploration activities near the area.

Vice President of Communications at Pertamina, the parent company of PHE, Ali Mundakir told Petromindo.com that the ONWJ block is considered as a national vital project.

?The work at the Cimalaya Port will affect activities at ONWJ because there are already platforms and undersea pipelines in the area, all of which are categorized as national vital object,? he said.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak