Pertamina will retender contracts linked to Soeharto<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Mines and Energy Kuntoro
\nMangkusubroto has ordered state oil and gas company Pertamina to
\nretender contracts awarded to former President Soeharto's family
\nand cronies.<\/p>\n
Kuntoro said the contracts which would be retendered included
\nthose for the procurement of fuel, goods and materials for the
\ncompany, and the shipment of Pertamina products.<\/p>\n
\"The bidding process is aimed at weeding out companies which
\ncharge Pertamina excessively high costs,\" Kuntoro said, adding
\nthat the bidding would be opened to all interested parties even
\nthough the existing contracts have not yet expired.<\/p>\n
Companies which currently hold the contracts should cut their
\nprices below the level proposed in the new call for tenders if
\nthey wanted to continue their operations, Kuntoro said.<\/p>\n
If they refuse to do so the contracts will be transferred to
\ncompanies which offer more competitive prices, he added.<\/p>\n
\"The retendering process does not mean that existing contracts
\nhave been annulled. Companies which currently work with Pertamina
\nare being offered the chance to continue working with the
\ncompany, provided they lower their prices,\" Kuntoro said,
\nreiterating his earlier commitment to honoring all contracts
\nalready awarded to private companies.<\/p>\n
Kuntoro said Pertamina would retender the US$46 million a year
\ncontract to procure catalysts and chemicals for the production of
\nfuel oil in the Balongan refinery in West Java. Bids will be
\nwelcomed by the company from next week.<\/p>\n
An informed source said the contract was currently held by PT
\nCatalyst Indopratama, a company partly owned by former president
\nSoeharto's son Hutomo Mandala Putra, who is better known as
\nTommy.<\/p>\n
According to the source, the company charges Pertamina $2,500
\nper ton of catalyst, compared to a price proposal of less than
\n$2,000 per ton submitted by two rival companies during the
\ninitial bidding process.<\/p>\n
He said Pertamina would also reopen competitive bidding for
\nthe import of fuel next month. Fuel imports have for decades been
\nmonopolized by PT Permindo, a company controlled by the Bimantara
\nGroup led by Soeharto's second son Bambang Trihatmodjo.<\/p>\n
Permindo would be allowed to participate in the bidding
\nprocess if it wanted to attempt to win the contract based on its
\nown merits alone, Kuntoro said.<\/p>\n
The import of crude oil, which was for decades monopolized by
\nPerta Oil Marketing Ltd, controlled by Tommy and Soeharto's crony
\nMohammad \"Bob\" Hassan, would be taken under the wing of
\nPertamina's own trading division from next month, Kuntoro added.<\/p>\n
Pertamina said earlier that between 120 and 149 companies
\nwhich do business with the company were owned by Soeharto's
\nfamily and cronies.<\/p>\n
Soeharto's family dominates the shipping of liquefied natural
\ngas (LNG), crude oil and fuel, gas pipeline network development,
\ngeothermal power and the development of refineries and many other
\naspects of the hydrocarbon sector.<\/p>\n
Analysts said the companies obtained contracts from Pertamina
\nthrough special appointment or quasi-tenders. The terms offered
\nby the companies were frequently uncompetitive but the contracts
\nwere nevertheless awarded because of their close relations with
\nthe former president.<\/p>\n
The House of Representatives said last week that they
\nsupported Kuntoro's plan to ask the Attorney General's Office and
\nthe Development and Finance Comptroller (BPKP) to audit the legal
\nand financial content of the contracts awarded to the companies.<\/p>\n
Legislators believe the companies marked up prices for
\ncontracts to work with Pertamina as a matter of course.<\/p>\n
Kuntoro also noted yesterday that contracts which would be
\nretendered were only those which had been awarded to the
\ncompanies through a competitive bidding process.<\/p>\n
\"Contracts which were awarded without any bidding procedure
\nwill be annulled,\" he said. (jsk)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pertamina-will-retender-contracts-linked-to-soeharto-1447893297",
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