News

Chevron Geothermal seeks additional permits for Mount Salak project

Chevron Geothermal seeks additional permits for Mount Salak project View towards Mount Salak, West Java, Indonesia (source: flickr/ Cak-cak, creative commons)
Alexander Richter 2 Sep 2016

Despite changed legislation for the work on geothermal projects in protected forest areas, Chevron Geothermal is facing some challenges on the development of its Mount Salak project due to some areas having "national park"-status.

Despite an ongoing sales process, Chevron Geothermal continues its efforts to develop the Mount Salak geothermal project in Indonesia. The company has asked the federal government for additional permits for land use in the conservation area of Mount Salak.

The government is currently conducting the process of issuing permits for land use in the area, that would allow Chevron to access an area that currently lies in protected forest areas.

Through Law No. 21 of 2003 and Regulation No 103/ 2016 and Environment and Forests No. 46 in 2016, the government has allowed the park to use geothermal development.

“Earlier permits excluded areas in the protected forest, but changed regulations can allow permissions for geothermal development based on environmental guidelines, “said Director of Geothermal Energy, Yunus Syaifulhak.

PT Chevron had asked the government to review the rules, which have been an obstacle in the process of exploration of geothermal energy in Indonesia.

Vice President Policy, Government and Public Affairs at Chevron, Yanto Sianipar said there is geothermal potential in areas that have forest conservation zone status.With the prohibition of activity in the national forest, the policy was hampering his project in Salak Mountains.

“The problem is the status of the forest area has actually changed. For example, initially, the forest was protected, but the company could ask for permission to operate. Now the forest has been turned into a national park status. So there is an unclear legal status, which constitutes a hurdle for the company to develop the project.”

Source: Aktual