Pertamina returns geothermal contracts to government

Pertamina returns geothermal contracts to government

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

State-owned oil and gas company Pertamina on Monday returned its exploration rights over 18 geothermal fields in Java, Sumatra and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) to the government as it lacked the necessary funds to develop the areas.

A ceremony was held to mark the transfer.

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said at the ceremony that the transfer of the exploration rights would allow other firms to develop the areas.

He added that the government did not want to see geothermal fields being controlled for a very long time by one company without any concrete plans on when development would take place.

"With the handover, other firms can have an equal chance of developing the geothermal areas," he said.

He added that the transfer would allow Pertamina to be more focused in its efforts to boost efficiency in its operations.

With the transfer, Pertamina now controls 15 geothermal working areas, which are being developed through cooperation with private power firms.

Some of the joint cooperation projects are the Kamojang geothermal power plant in West Java, and the Lahendong (North Sulawesi), and Sibayak (North Sumatra) power plants.

Meanwhile, Pertamina president Baihaki Hakim said the company was still interested in developing new geothermal areas in the future.

"We have strong experience in this field ... (and) the country's power demand is still growing, so we'll always watch out for such developments," he said.

At the same event, the Directorate General of Oil and Gas also relinquished its supervisory role over the geothermal sector to the Directorate General of Geology and Mineral Resources.