Premier Oil maintains Indonesian operations

Premier Oil Plc, a U.K. oil and natural gas explorer, maintained operations in Indonesia with heightened security, even as bigger rivals shuttered offices following the U.S.-led bombing of Afghanistan, Bloomberg reported Monday.

``The company continues to monitor the situation on an hour- by-hour basis and internal security has been stepped up,'' said Archie Berens, an outside spokesman working for Premier. Three U.S. oil companies --top producer Exxon Mobil Corp., Unocal Corp. and Conoco Inc. -- closed their offices in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, concerned about protests in the mostly Muslim country.

Premier Oil operates an offshore oil and gas production block in West Natuna Sea. (*)