ExxonMobil in Aceh

In 1971 Mobil Oil discovered massive reserves of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Aceh. (Mobil Oil merged with Exxon, becoming ExxonMobil, in 1999.) ExxonMobil operates in partnership with the state oil company, Pertamina. The LNG fields make the province Indonesia's fourth largest contributor of export earnings from natural resources. The Jakarta government receives a reported US$1 billion per year from the gas fields.

The installations are closely guarded by troops who have been responsible for numerous abuses of villagers living in the vicinity of the plant. In June 2001, a lawsuit was filed in the U.S. against the company on behalf of 11 Acehnese villagers. The suit alleges that the oil giant is complicit in the Indonesian military's systematic use of torture, murder, rape, and other acts of terror; that ExxonMobil knowingly hired these brutal security forces to protect their facilities; and that the multinational aided and abetted human rights violations by providing TNI troops financial and other material support. The U.S. State Department filed an opinion with the court claiming that the suit would have a "serious adverse impact" in the "struggle against international terrorism." The lawsuit is still pending.

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