Comment: Investment and RI’s oil production

Oct. 1, p. 6: Amid declining oil production, a long-standing issue that the Indonesian government has not satisfactorily resolved is whether to continue to be tough against oil companies on the question of financial incentives or to be flexible. Although the government recognizes that to boost oil exploration and production it needs support and cooperation from oil companies, relations between the government and the oil companies, especially foreign oil companies, is basically hostile, and lacks mutual trust. (By Winarno Zain, Jakarta)

Your comments:

Hello Bu Karen (Pertamina chief), where is your blueprint? Are you still commited or are you just NATO (no action talk only).
Ahmad
Jakarta

It seems to me, that Indonesian politicians do not know what they want in regard to natural resources. Sometimes they signalize: “investors please come”, then they change it to “hands off the Indonesian resources” and back again.
One cannot commit to long-term investment if the people in power change their mind every few months.
If the government really wants to nationalize the sector, they should clean up Pertamina and the national companies first.
Otherwise the resource wealth will never benefit the people (as intended in the constitution) and there will be many new Lapindo-style disasters due to greed and bad planning.
Julian
Tangerang