Pertamina maintains cash-and-carry deals
DENPASAR, Bali (JP): State oil and gas company Pertamina still applies a cash-and-carry scheme for the sales of aviation fuel to national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia and state airline Merpati Nusantara.
Pertamina president Soegianto said here on Monday that the scheme would be changed only if the two airline companies settled their unpaid fuel bills.
"We are maintaining the cash-and-carry scheme to prevent them from falling into increased arrears with us," Soegianto said at the ceremony to receive the International Standard Organization (ISO) 9002 certificate from the international certification agency Societe General de Surveillance (SGS) for its distribution and marketing unit at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar.
Soegianto said Pertamina also applied a cash-and-carry payment scheme for foreign airlines making irregular purchase of its aviation fuel but regular purchasing foreign airlines may delay payments up to one month and 10 days after a transaction.
Soegianto did not reveal on Monday the extent of Garuda and Merpati's current debt to the company.
But, in a hearing with House of Representatives Commission V for mines and energy, industry and trade, manpower, environment, cooperatives and investment last July he said Garuda owed Pertamina Rp 103 billion (US$12.8 million) in rupiah and $12.8 million in dollars, excluding fines and interest, for the purchase of aviation fuel.
Merpati owed to the state company, excluding interest and fines, $1.3 million for similar transactions.
Soegianto said Pertamina charged them 1 percent interest on the dollar-denominated debt and 1.5 percent interest on the debt in rupiah.
Pertamina started applying the cash-and-carry scheme to both airlines in June.
Soegianto also said in July the bankrupt private airlines Sempati Air, partly owned by former president Soeharto's son Hutomo Mandala Putra, also known as Tommy, and golfing partner Muhammad "Bob" Hassan, owed Pertamina $4.3 million, excluding interest.
"We are still negotiating with the Humpuss group controlled by Tommy on the payment of Sempati's debt," Soegianto said.
ISO
Soegianto said Pertamina would continue improving the quality of its production, distribution and marketing system throughout the country to meet international standards in anticipation of the competition in the future liberalized oil market here.
The government is drafting a law on gas and oil which will open the country's downstream sector, which is currently monopolized by Pertamina, to foreign companies.
He said aside from the company's marketing and distribution unit at the Ngurah Rai airport, the state company had also received the ISO 9002 for its distribution and marketing unit at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Cengkareng and its lube oil blending plant in Cilacap, Central Java, in April 1997 from the Netherlands-based certification agency Deutche Norske Veritas (DNV).
He said Pertamina hoped to obtain another ISO 9002 certificate for its liquefied natural gas (LPG) container manufacturing plant in Jakarta in the near future. (jsk)