EMP resumes operations off Madura Island

Offshore staff

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesian-owned EMP Kangean Ltd. has resumed operations of its gas field in the Java Sea off Madura Island. The field was closed temporarily following a protest by local residents over revenue sharing.

Partial production has resumed. Production will be ramped up to 45 MMcf/d in the coming days, says Herwin W. Hidayat, EMP vice president for capital markets.

Meanwhile, EMP's listed parent group, PT Energi Mega Persada Tbk., has been negotiating with the East Java residents who had demanded revenue sharing rights to finance infrastructure development in the region and to fund community projects.

EMP supplies Kangean gas to state-owned Perusahaan Gas Negara PGN and fertilizer producer Petrokimia Gresik in East Java.

Production from the field for the first nine months of last year averaged 70 MMcf/d.

1/12/2007