Govt to replace Pertamina management this month<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government will replace state oil and gas firm PT Pertamina's
\nmanagement board later this month due to \"poor performance\".<\/p>\n
The mass dismissal will take place prior to September's
\nsigning of a contract between Pertamina and ExxonMobil Corp. on
\nthe Cepu block.<\/p>\n
\"The Office of the State Minister of State Enterprises is
\ncurrently screening several candidates to fill in some posts at
\nthe management. We expect the reshuffle within this month,\"
\nCoordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie said at the
\nPresidential Palace on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
He refused to elaborate on the reasons behind the replacement,
\nbut State Minister of State Enterprises Sugiharto said it was
\nclosely related to Pertamina's poor performance in addressing the
\ncompany's problems.<\/p>\n
\"The reshuffle should enhance Pertamina's performance, which I
\nbelieve is far below my expectations. It is not merely about the
\nCepu contract, it is a combination of many things which I am not
\nhappy about,\" he asserted.<\/p>\n
Apart from recent fuel shortages, Pertamina's management had
\nrefused to go along fully with a key memorandum of understanding
\n(MOU) signed between ExxonMobil and the government in developing
\nthe oil-rich Cepu block, located on the border of Central Java
\nand East Java provinces.<\/p>\n
Pertamina president director Widya Purnama earlier asked the
\ngovernment to let Pertamina replace ExxonMobil as the operator of
\nthe block for a bigger split of the output -- a violation of the
\nMOU agreed upon on June 25.<\/p>\n
Exxon and a government-sponsored negotiating team agreed on
\nthe deal that called for the stakeholders -- Pertamina, Exxon and
\nlocal administrations -- to split 15 percent of the output and
\nthe government 85 percent if oil prices averaged over US$45 in a
\nyear.<\/p>\n
If oil falls to below $35 it would be a 30-70 split.<\/p>\n
The MOU also marked the end of a four-year dispute between the
\ngovernment and ExxonMobil.<\/p>\n
Widya took over Pertamina's top job after being appointed by
\nthen President Megawati Soekarnoputri a year ago to succeed
\nAriffi Nawawi.<\/p>\n
Although several names for the top jobs at Pertamina have
\nbegun circulating around the Presidential Palace, neither
\nAburizal nor Sugiharto would reveal the candidates, explaining
\nthat the matter was deemed \"sensitive\".<\/p>\n
The names include the Ministry of Energy and Mineral
\nResources' director general of oil and gas Iin Arifin Takhyan,
\nPertamina incumbent president commissioner Martiono and the Oil
\nand Gas Regulatory Implementing Body (BP Migas) chairman Tubagus
\nHaryono.<\/p>\n
\"The candidates will be from outside Pertamina or the
\ncompany's former top executives. We are still selecting them and
\nhope some names will be recommended soon to the final assessment
\nteam (TPA),\" said Aburizal.<\/p>\n
The team is a special forum with its members comprising of
\nPresident Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Vice President Jusuf Kalla,
\nChief of the National Intelligence Agency Syamsir Siregar,
\nCabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi and other related ministers.<\/p>\n
Members of the TPA are selecting candidates for top jobs in
\nthe government, the military, the police and state enterprises.<\/p>",
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