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View all search resultsHere goes the blame game for high energy imports
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![All set: State oil and gas company Pertamina has prepared Mobile Storage [pictured] that will operate both in toll and non-toll roads during the upcoming Idul Fitri holiday season.](https://img.jakpost.net/c/2018/06/06/2018_06_06_47134_1528254579._large.jpg)
All set: State oil and gas company Pertamina has prepared Mobile Storage [pictured] that will operate both in toll and non-toll roads during the upcoming Idul Fitri holiday season. (JP/Nedi Putra AW)
T
he headline refers to an article in The Jakarta Post on Sept. 24, where the government is blaming state oil and gas company Pertamina as the main contributor for the country’s high trade deficit.
The article goes onto say that Pertamina lacks aggression in exploration; whilst this is partly true, this can also be said about the whole country for all of its natural resources, including geothermal and minerals. Exploitation has been the action for so long, exploration has not been happening and the claim that the price of oil was too low is an excuse. Exploration to production takes time.
Part of the problem is Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). With conventional exploration methods the risk is high, which means that the success rate is low, which means that money will be lost; this is the cost of exploration, it is not a mistake.
Decision makers are scared to make decisions in case others look at it as an error of judgement or seen as corruption, which means that the decision maker is prone to an investigation, where many times the mistake is not a mistake, just that the odds are against success.
