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Troubled ministry appoints new oil, mining chiefs
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro on Friday appointed two new director generals in a major shakeup at his troubled ministry
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Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro on Friday appointed two new director generals in a major shakeup at his troubled ministry.
Evita Herawati Legowo became the director general of oil and gas and Bambang Setiawan the director general of mineral resources, geothermal and coal.
The changes took place ahead of the House of Representatives' inquiry over the country's poor management in the oil and gas sector, which has resulted in a protracted inefficiency in the production and sales of the commodities.
In his speech during the inauguration ceremony, Purnomo said Evita's appointment had no link to any allegations of a failure by former director general of oil and gas Luluk Sumiarso in boosting the country's oil output.
"I would like to clarify that this replacement has nothing to do with oil output or cost recovery. Those issues are all under my responsibility as minister. Luluk was replaced purely because I need him to be my senior advisor," Purnomo said.
Luluk takes over Evita's position as the minister's expert staff for human resources and technology. Evita is also active in the National Biofuel Development Board.
Despite having the largest oil reserve in Southeast Asia, Indonesia has been facing a declining oil output due to a combination of factors, including unfavorable policies for investors and spiraling red tape.
The country's crude production only reached 899,000 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) per day last year, down from 1.082 million BOE per day in 2001, according to oil and gas upstream regulator BPMigas.
"I hope Evita can work hard to increase oil and gas production. I encourage her to cooperate with other agencies because the oil and gas sector does not stand alone," said Purnomo.
Scheduled to start in the middle of August, the House's energy inquiry committee is tasked with unraveling the root cause of the decline in oil output as well as abuses in the sector.
Evita is expected to help the embattled Purnomo in providing answers during the inquiry, which is thought by some analysts to be a political burden for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ahead of next year's general election.
When asked about her priorities at the directorate, Evita merely said she would work hard.
Graduated from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in chemistry in 1974, Evita earned her doctorate in petroleum chemistry at the Technische Universitaet Clausthal in Germany in 1991.
The new director general of mineral resources, geothermal and coal, Bambang, was a secretary at the directorate.
Bambang replaces Simon Felix Sembiring, who is now the minister's senior advisor for finance and economy.
"Pak Bambang needs to work hard to boost our investment in mining sectors," said Purnomo.
