Cogeneration plant project free from collusion: Caltex
Cogeneration plant project free from collusion: Caltex
JAKARTA (JP): Oil company PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia has
denied that it had formed a partnership with a company partly
owned by a foundation linked with former state oil and gas
company Pertamina's president Faisal Abda'oe to develop a US$190
million cogeneration plant in Duri, Riau.
However, Caltex's president and chairman of the managing board
Baihaki Hakim refused to disclose the names of all the owners of
PT Nusagalih Nusantara, the local partner of Caltex's
shareholders-- Chevron and Texaco of the United States-- in
developing the 300-Megawatt cogeneration plant.
The cogeneration plant is being developed by PT Mandau Cipta
Tenaga Nusantara, which received the project from Caltex without
competitive bidding.
Nusagalih owns 5 percent of Mandau Cipta with the remaining 95
percent held by Chevron and Texaco.
Informed sources at Pertamina said Nusagalih is controlled by
Feisal and the Serangan Umum 1 Maret foundation, which was once
chaired by Feisal and is linked with former president Soeharto.
But Baihaki said Nusagalih's statutes name only Harsudi
Supandi as the owner.
"We didn't bother to find out who was behind him. The main
thing is that he has the money and capabilities to co-develop the
project," Baihaki said, adding that Harsudi is a supplier of oil
production equipment for Caltex.
But Minister of Mines and Energy Kuntoro Mangkusubroto said on
Monday he had instructed Director General of Oil and Gas
Soepraptono Soelaiman and Pertamina's president Martiono Hadianto
to probe into the dubious deal allegedly made by Caltex regarding
the cogeneration plant project.
A Caltex spokesman told The Jakarta Post last week Nusagalih
was formerly co-owned by the Serangan Umum 1 Maret foundation but
Harsudi later took over its shares in order to control the
company.
But, Baihaki said the statement was inaccurate, adding Caltex
did not fully know the identity of the original owners of the
company.
"Presumption of corruption, collusion and nepotism in the
project is definitely wrong," he said.
Baihaki admitted that Caltex had awarded the cogeneration
plant project to Mandau Cipta without competitive bidding but he
said the deal was done with prior approval from Pertamina and was
processed through all the necessary channels.
Pertamina had given its approval on Aug. 26, 1997 when Faisal
served as Pertamina's president.
He said under the existing regulation, an oil and gas
contractor is allowed to award a project to a third party without
competitive bidding to speed up its development provided that the
project does not reduce the government's earnings from the oil
and gas operations.
He said Caltex had appointed Chevron and Texaco to develop the
project because the companies had lengthy experience in the
design, construction and operation of cogeneration plants
specifically built for high pressure steam flooding of oil fields
which Caltex is going to carry out in its Duri oil fields.
Chevron and Texaco later formed a partnership with Nusagalih
to comply with the existing regulation which obliges foreign
investors to give 5 percent to a local partner.
The country's largest cogeneration plant, scheduled for
completion in 2000, will supply power and steam to support oil
production at Caltex's steamflood operation in Duri.
Cogeneration is a fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly
process that will produce electricity and steam simultaneously
from natural gas.
Differing from a normal gas-fired power plant which can only
turn 30 percent of the gas into power and discharges the rest in
wasted energy, a cogeneration plant can produce power as well as
further process most of the wasted energy into thermal energy for
heating and cooling needs.
The steam that will be produced at the Duri cogeneration plant
will be pumped into the Duri oil wells to force crude oil flow
out. (jsk)