The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry and the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Monday on protecting the country’s energy and mining assets from acts of terrorism.

“Today, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry and BNPT signed an agreement to cooperate in protecting vital facilities, specifically those that affect the lives of many people,” Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan said on Monday.

“These include those in the power, energy, upstream oil and gas and mining sectors.”

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The ministry requested the help of the BNPT to compose standard operating procedures for the protection of state assets, said Jonan, adding that the level of security was different depending on the operators.

Meanwhile, BNPT chief Suhardi Alius said that although there was no indication yet that terrorists were seeking to target energy or mining assets, it was important to take precautionary measures.

“We are trying to monitor the standard operating procedures of vital national facilities that might be vulnerable to terrorism. This way, we can act much more quickly,” he said. (bbn)