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Energy assets to be better protected
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Energy talks: Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan (left). accompanied by his deputy Menteri Arcandra Tahar (right), attends a hearing at the House of Representatives in Jakarta on Nov. 22, 2016. (Antara/Agung Rajasa)
T
he Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry seems to mean business in protecting state energy and mining assets against acts of terror even though no vital installations in the country have been targeted by terrorists to date.
The ministry signed an agreement on Friday with the Indonesian Military (TNI) on the role of the armed forces in securing exploration activities of natural resources across the country managed by the ministry. It made a similar deal with the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) a few months ago.
“It’s especially for vital installations, such as upstream oil and gas exploration, and power and fuel installations,” Energy Minister Ignasius Jonan said after the signing ceremony at TNI headquarters in Jakarta, as quoted by kompas.com.
TNI chief Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo said he would deploy personnel to several onshore and offshore exploration sites as they could face security threats at any time. “When ministry officials conduct [field] studies in the sea, they are often bothered by [foreign] vessels,” he said.
In March, the ministry signed a similar memorandum with the BNPT, during which the ministry also requested the help of the BNPT to compile standard operating procedures for the protection of state assets. At that time, Jonan said the level of security was different depending on the operators.
Meanwhile, BNPT chief Suhardi Alius said that although there was no indication that terrorists would target energy or mining assets, it was important to take precautionary measures. (yon)
