Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Forestry Ministry will give a special treatment for the issuance of a license to a company willing to conduct a coal bed methane (CBM) exploration under a borrow-use term, a senior official said.

Forestry Ministry Secretary General Hadi Daryanto said here on Wednesday that the borrow-use license for exploration of CBM could be given to a firm willing to operate in a forest area.

He said that the license would be given no matter the area was overlapping with the license for a forest concession area.

The director general said the government would make the issuance process of a coal methane gas drilling activity easier through a forestry minister`s decree No. 18 / 2011 on the guidelines of borrow-use of forest areas.

He said that a total of 487 CBM contractors could soon apply for such a license at the forestry ministry. It is guaranteed the license would be issued in a three month time.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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