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AKARTA: Oil and gas company VICO Indonesia and coal mining company PT Singlurus Pratama signed an agreement on Monday to resolve an overlapping land use issue. The land in question is owned by VICO but Singlurus has filed an interest to use the land, as it contains coal resources.

Through the agreement, VICO has granted permission to Singlurus to run coal production at the area in question, which comprised 16,284 hectares and is located in Kutai Kertanegara regency, East Kalimantan. The area is divided into 11,169 hectares of green zone and 5,115 hectares of yellow zone.

“At the green zone, Singlurus can directly run operations without further coordination with us, while at the yellow zone, coordination between the two companies is necessary, so that they do not damage our pipes,” said VICO.

VICO has been operating in the area since 1968, while Singlurus started in 1997. Singlurus’ first coal production was in 2009, after the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry issued a ministerial decree on Mar. 30, 2009. “Block Mutiara, located on overlapping land, will contribute another 1 million tons,” said Edi Saputra, Singlurus’ government liaison. /fem