Indonesia asks Exxon to resume Aceh operations

Indonesians are still in the dark over the future of Exxon's operations in Aceh

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesian officials have urged U.S. energy giant ExxonMobil Oil to resume production of natural gas in Aceh province by June.

In early March, ExxonMobil suspended the operations of its gas fields in the restive province amid escalating conflict between Indonesian security forces and insurgents belonging to the Free Aceh Movement.

Rachmat Sudibyo, director general for oil and gas at Indonesia's Department of Energy, warned that Indonesia may have import natural gas to meet supply contracts if production at Aceh's Arun gas fields has not resumed by June.

Located in north Aceh, one of the province's conflict-prone areas, the fields feed the giant Arun liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant, which is partly owned by the state mining company, Pertamina.

According to local media, the closure of the gas fields has cost Indonesia an estimated $100 million a month in lost export revenues.

Julia Tumengkol, a spokeswoman for ExxonMobil in Jakarta, said the company had not yet decided when to resume operations because it was still concerned about the security situation.

Separatists in the oil- and gas-rich area on the northern tip of Sumatra island have been battling for an independent homeland since 1975. The war has claimed at least 6,000 lives in the past decade, most of them civilians.

Over the weekend, separatists and government troops exchanged gunfire close to the gas fields. Seven people were killed in fighting elsewhere in the province.

The latest deaths bring to at least 13 the number of people killed in Aceh since President Abdurrahman Wahid ordered troops to target known separatists in villages and districts across the province last week.

Sudidyo said the armed forces were boosting security around the gas fields to protect ExxonMobil's facilities and employees.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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