S

tate oil and gas company PT Pertamina plans to build a gas pipeline through the Bangkiriang wildlife reserve in Banggai, Central Sulawesi.

The works will be carried out by Pertamina's Exploration and Production unit overseeing the Matindok Gas Development Project in Banggai, Central Sulawesi.

M. Indra M. Kusuma, general manager of the project's exploration and production unit, said over the weekend that the pipeline project will be built along the existing trans-Sulawesi road from Toili district to Batui district.

Indra said that the construction of the pipelining will be carried out after Pertamina is issued a license by Forestry Minister M.S. Kaban.

Under the license, Pertamina will be required to cooperate with the Central Sulawesi Nature Resource Conservation Agency (BKSDA) in constructing the pipeline, he said.

The license covers only the pipeline and not the gas mining activities proposed by Pertamina in the Bangkiriang.

The issuance of the license will further speed up the development of Donggi and Minahaki gas fields in West Toili and Toili districts.

The gas will be channeled to a liquefied natural gas refinery being built by PT Donggi Senoro LNG at Uso village in Batui district.

In addition to the two gas fields, Pertamina will also exploit the Matindok and Maleo Raja gas fields in Batui in an effort to supply 85 million standard cubic feet per day of gas to Donggi Senoro LNG starting in 2012.

However, Indra Kusuma said, the construction of the pipeline will likely not be undertaken this year because his company still has to clear land and prepare other infrastructure in the four gas fields.

He also promised that the construction of the pipeline project will not damage Bangkiriang wildlife reserve because the pipeline will only follow existing road networks. "We will not create more damage in Bangkiriang," he said.

Meanwhile, executive of the South Sulawesi branch of the Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi) Ahmad Pelor strongly criticized the pipeline project, saying that the BKSDA should improve the condition of the Bangkiriang wildlife reserve and not the other way round.

Ahmad said that the government policy towards Bangkiriang worsens destruction of forests belonging to the traditional Batui community. "The BKSDA should strive to repair destruction in Bangkiriang and not to allow investors to damage the wildlife reserve," he said.

The results of an investigation by the Read and White Foundation show that out of the 12,500 hectares of Bangkiriang wildlife reserve, only about 1,000 hectares consist of forested lands. The other 11,500 hectares have been encroached on in the name of development and investment to raise locally generated incomes.