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Government, lawmakers still differ on oil, gas bill
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Oil and gas director general Djoko Siswanto. (Courtesy of/The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry)
T
he government and a number of lawmakers continue to express opposing opinions on an oil and gas bill as the former wants to maintain the Oil and Gas Regulatory Task Force (SKKMigas), while the latter wants the role of SKKMigas to be taken over by state-owned oil and gas holding company Pertamina.
The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s oil and gas director general, Djoko Siswanto, said on Tuesday that the role of SKKMigas would be expanded, including as a holder of participating interest in oil and gas blocks.
“It is needed to step up state control [in oil and gas blocks]. By acting as a participating interest holder, we could know the costs to operate blocks efficiently,” he said.
SKKMigas currently acts only as a regulator.
House member Kurtubi said on Monday that he preferred to assign Pertamina as a special business entity on oil and gas that would represent the government’s interests in oil and gas businesses.
With the expanded function, Pertamina would be directly under the control of the president, not under the state-owned enterprises minister, Kurtuni said, adding that the scheme would be in line with a recommendation made by the Supreme Court in 2012 when it disbanded upstream oil and gas regulator BP Migas. (bbn)
