Govt to reshuffle Pertamina management
Govt to reshuffle Pertamina management
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
The government is set to reshuffle the management of state-owned
oil and gas company Pertamina, but incumbent company president
Baihaki Hakim is likely to retain his post, according to a
source.
The reshuffle is expected to take place after President
Megawati Soekarnopturi returns from her 13-day trip to China,
North Korea, South Korea and India, which starts on Sunday.
The source, however, said that since Megawati had not made any
final decision yet, there was still a possibility that former
company director for management production sharing (MPS) Gatot K.
Wirojudo would be named to replace Baihaki.
Gatot currently handles Pertamina's international exploration
and production activities.
Any reshuffle within Pertamina's board of directors requires a
presidential decree. The latest reshuffle took place in July last
year, when Megawati was still the country's vice president.
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro
was not available for comment.
Director General of Oil and Gas Rachmat Sudibyo claimed that
he was unaware of any imminent reshuffle at Pertamina.
An official at the State Secretariat said that Megawati had
not signed any decree on the Pertamina reshuffle.
But a legislator of Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle Ramson Siagian confirmed that a reshuffle at Pertamina
was imminent and that Baihaki was likely to retain his post.
Ramson is close to Megawati's husband Taufik Kiemas.
The source claimed that Sutadi, a senior official at
Pertamina, will be named as the company's new finance director,
replacing Ainun Naim.
Pertamina upstream director Iin Arifin Takhyan is likely to be
appointed as the new director for MPS, replacing Effendi
Situmorang.
Meanwhile, Trijana, a senior staff at the directorate of MPS,
is tipped to be appointed as the upstream director.
The position of downstream director may go to Harri Purnomo, a
former marketing and distribution director at the company.
Director for development Bardi Machraman will also apparently
retain his position.
Rumors of a reshuffle within Pertamina top management have
been circulating for quite a while. Candidates include former
coordinating minister for the economy Rizal Ramli, and ex-
minister of trade and industry Luhut Pandjaitan.
Pertamina, which for decades had enjoyed a monopoly, is now in
the process of transforming itself into a limited liability
company following the enactment of a new oil and gas law last
year aimed at liberalizing the country's oil and gas sector.
To become a strong limited liability company as well as a
world class company, Pertamina has planned aggressive expansion
in the upstream and downstream sector worth billions of dollars
during the next couple years.
It has sought funds from foreign institutions to finance its
projects.
Pertamina expects gross profit to slightly increase by 1.2
percent to Rp 11.9 trillion (US$1.14 billion) this year from Rp
11.75 trillion last year.
The imminent reshuffle at Pertamina comes amid reports that
the government is also set to dismiss I Putu Gede Ary Suta,
chairman of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA),
another key institution controlling over Rp 600 trillion worth of
assets transferred by closed down banks, and indebted
conglomerates.