Court to rule on Pertamina-Gulf case
JAKARTA (JP): The Palembang State Administrative Court will issue a ruling on the land dispute between a plantation company and state oil and gas company Pertamina and its contractor Gulf Resources of Canada in the next two weeks.
Gulf's lawyer Deni Rijadi told The Jakarta Post on Saturday the court would issue its ruling on the dispute on May 11 after hearing final arguments from lawyers representing both parties on Friday.
Plantation owner PT Sentosa Mulia Bahagia (SMB) filed a lawsuit at the administrative court in March demanding the revocation of the land-appropriation permit and the land-use permit issued by the Musi Banyuasin (Muba) regent to Pertamina and Gulf for their gas project in Grissik.
The lawsuit named the Muba regent and his staff, as the issuer of the permit, the main defendant. Pertamina and Gulf, as the receivers of the permit, were named secondary defendants.
Pertamina and Gulf constructed a gas plant in Grissik to process gas exploited in nearby before being channeling the gas to Riau through pipelines. The companies plan to eventually channel the gas to Singapore through underwater pipelines.
SMB claims the gas plant was built on its land, charging Pertamina and Gulf appropriated the land through a legally flawed permit.
It also accused Pertamina and Gulf of not paying compensation for the appropriated land.
The Palembang-based Sumatra Ekspres daily reported on Saturday that lawyers for Pertamina and Gulf said during the trial on Friday the Muba regent issued a land-appropriation permit and land-use permit to their clients according to proper procedures. The lawyers added the companies also followed proper procedures in appropriating the land.
The lawyers also said the land-use permit held by SMB was legally flawed because the area indicated in the permit overlapped with the oil and gas contract area of Pertamina and Gulf as stipulated in a 1971 presidential decree.
Accordingly, the lawyers said, SMB needed approval from the Ministry of Mines and Energy for its land-use permit; approval which the company lacked.
They also said State Minister of Agrarian Affairs Hasan Basri Durin issued instructions to the provincial agrarian office to review SMB's land-use permit because it was legally flawed.
However, SMB's lawyers said during the trial they had maps which indicated the Grissik processing gas plant had been built six kilometers outside of Pertamina and Gulf's contract area.
Therefore, SMB's lawyers said, the company's land-use permit was legally valid and did not need approval from the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
The plantation company also filed a civil lawsuit at Sekayu District Court in Musi Banyuasin regency last year to demand compensation from Pertamina and Gulf for appropriating its land for their gas project.
The Sekayu court ruled in favor of SMB in February this year, but Pertamina and Gulf plan to appeal the decision to the Palembang High Court.
Pertamina and Gulf, which claim to have paid compensation for the appropriated land, will file their appeal with the high court this month, Deny said. (jsk)