Asia Pulse: INDONESIAN PARLIAMENT TO SUMMON PETRONAS AND SHELL OVER AMBALAT (ShellNews.net) 10 March 05

JAKARTA, March 10 Asia Pulse - The House of Representatives will summon representatives of Malaysia's Petronas and Royal Dutch Shell Group for a hearing about Ambalat oil block off East Kalimantan, now in the center of political controversy between Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur.

Petronas has awarded Shell the Ambalat and East Ambalat blocks which are within the Indonesian territory, legislator Ransom Siagian said here yesterday.

Ransom said the granting of the concession by Petronas is an insult to the country, therefore, he called on the government to suspend operation of that company in the country. Chief Economics Minister Aburizal Bakrie, however, said Malaysian investors need no hesitate to continue their normal activities in the country because of the Ambalat case.

The two countries would certainly be able to settle the dispute. Business must go on as usual, he said.

A government official has said Shell was suspected of using the same data it already sold to ENI on the Ambalat oil potential.

Shell was awarded the Ambalat oil blocks by the Indonesian government but later it sold the concession to an Italian contractor ENI before it recently received the same concession from Petronas.