Court to rule on Pertamina-Gulf case
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)