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Energy Ministry appoints new directors for renewables, oil and gas
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The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry's newly appointed (left to right) oil and gas director general Tutuka Ariadji, renewables director general Dadan Kusdiana and first inspector Maompang Harahap attend an inauguration ceremony in Jakarta on Nov. 6. (Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry/-)
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he Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has installed two new officials to oversee Indonesia’s renewable energy and oil and gas industries as the country seeks to simultaneously develop clean energy and ramp up oil production.
On Nov. 6, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arifin Tasrif appointed long-time ministry bureaucrat Dadan Kusdiana as renewables director general and engineering professor Tutuka Ariadji as oil and gas director general.
“The challenge ahead is not easy, especially because we are in the midst of trying to revive our economy following the pandemic,” said the minister, addressing the new officials at an inauguration ceremony in Jakarta.
Indonesia has officially entered an economic recession after its gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 3.49 percent on an annual basis in the July-September period, marking the second consecutive quarter of contraction.
Read also: Controlled pandemic key to recovery as Indonesia falls into recession: Economists
Sumedang-born Dadan, 51, was tasked with pushing Indonesia’s renewable energy mix to 23 percent by 2025 as stipulated by the government’s General Planning for National Energy (RUEN) road map.
A mere 9.15 percent of Indonesia’s energy last year came from renewables, and several studies have predicted that Indonesia, if it continues to move at its current pace, will miss the 2025 target.
“The coming five years will be critical in achieving the RUEN targets, so the new director general will have to be creative and innovative,” said energy analyst Fabby Tumiwa, executive director of the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) to The Jakarta Post on Friday.
In achieving the mix, Dadan will oversee the completion of two important regulations: a Presidential Regulation (Perpres) on green electricity offtake prices and a new and renewable energy bill to lay the legal foundation for the industry.
Dadan previously served as the ministry’s bioenergy director and most recently served as head of research and development, where he oversaw the development of palm-oil mixed biodiesel blends. He is replacing FX Sutijastoto, who retired earlier this month.
Tutuka will be tasked with raising Indonesia’s oil production to one million barrels of oil per day (bopd) by 2030. Production had reached 706,200 bopd as of Sept. 30, official data shows.
The Surakarta native will also oversee the completion of several multibillion-dollar oil refinery projects, slated to produce both fuel and petrochemicals, and of the government’s cheap gas for key industries policy.
“Consistent execution, I believe, is the key, and I will try to involve all related stakeholders to accomplish this heavy task,” said Tutuka on Friday.
The ministry is slated to begin revising the 2001 Oil and Gas Law next year. The revisions are expected to establish a new upstream oil and gas regulatory agency.
Tutuka, 56, is an oil engineer by trade. He previously served on the expert panel of the Indonesian Association for Petroleum Engineers (IATMI) and as an oil and gas engineering professor at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).
Tutuka’s appointment fills a four-month vacancy after his predecessor, Djoko Siswanto, was removed in mid-July. The position was occupied in the interim by the ministry’s secretary general, Ego Syahrial.
The minister also appointed Maompang Harahap as an inspector at the Inspector General's office on Friday. As an Echelon II bureaucrat, his rank is lower than the directors general.
