Govt plans decree on oil, gas sector

JAKARTA: The government will only decide on the proposed extension of oil and gas contracts here after a special decree on the upstream oil and gas industry has been issued, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said on Monday.

He said that the decree would provide a legal basis for future government policy in the sector.

He declined to state what the content of the decree would be as it was still being deliberated.

It is also still not clear when the government would issue the decree, thus creating uncertainty for oil and gas production sharing contractors who have proposed contract extensions.

Anglo-American oil and gas giant BP Plc. has proposed the extension of its contract in managing the Kangean gas block in East Java, which will expire in 2010. -- JP