REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Rizal Ramli wants the country to use oil and gas potentials in the Natuna waters for the greatest benefit of the entire Indonesian people.

"Natuna waters are rich in oil and gas," he said here on Wednesday.

On its part, the ministry will evaluate oil and gas contractors in Natuna waters, which is one of the country's outlying areas, he said.

The evaluation is aimed to see which oil and gas contractors have seemingly stopped operating or are operating only temporarily, he said.