Jakarta – Exxon Mobil Indonesia's decision to halt oil and gas production in the troubled Aceh province has forced other major companies in the area to shut down too.

PT Arun LNG Co, a major exporter of liquefied natural gas to Japan and South Korea, officially stopped operations on Saturday, the Serambi daily said.

"We have to halt production because the supply of gas as raw material from Exxon Mobil has totally stopped," firm spokesman Rustam Effendi said. PT Arun employs more than 1,400 workers, and has another 2,400 contractors.

Exxon Mobil, which operates three oil and gas fields in North Aceh, halted production on Friday over security concerns.

It operates in an area where violence is common between government forces and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) which has been fighting for a separate Islamic state since the mid-1970s.

On Friday, fertiliser plants PT Pupuk Iskandar Muda and PT Asean Aceh Fertiliser also halted production following the interrupted fuel supply from Exxon Mobil. Paper plant PT Kertas Kraft Aceh is also said to be facing difficulties.

On Saturday, security appeared to have been reinforced at Exxon Mobil, with armed soldiers posted at security posts.