Pertamina to continue restructuring

JAKARTA (JP): The newly installed president of state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina, Soegianto, pledged yesterday to continue and give priority to the company's ongoing restructuring program.

Soegianto, 67, said Pertamina's new board of directors would continue restructuring and streamlining the company's operations.

"Pertamina's restructuring will last at least five years. So the new directors will continue the program," he told Antara after his inauguration ceremony.

On the tightening of the company's workforce, he said Pertamina had reduced its employees from 46,000 to 30,000 in the past two years.

"We will conduct further evaluations whether or not we need to reduce more employees," he said.

Rumors on the promotion of Soegianto to the company's top position had been spreading for the past two months, with the expire of Faisal Abda'oe's second term.

Soegianto, who began his career with Pertamina in 1960, replaced Faisal as finance director in 1988 when the latter was sworn-in as the company's president. Faisal was Pertamina's second-longest serving president after Ibnu Sutowo.

At yesterday's inauguration ceremony, Minister of Mines and Energy I.B Sudjana also swore in six directors -- Priyambodo Mulyosudirdjo as director of exploration and production, Samto Utomo as director of exploitation, Hadi Nugroho as director of supply and local marketing, Ilham Syarif as director of shipping and communications, Hadi Sudibyo as director of finance and Hadi Daryono as director of general affairs.

Sudjana, in his speech, expressed hope that Pertamina would be able to cope with the world's economic recession which had caused Indonesia's own economic crisis.

"In facing this situation, we should not be pessimistic and consider the problem very difficult to solve. We have to take every opportunity in making strategic moves for the future," he said.

He also called on Pertamina's new board of directors to keep investment in the oil and gas sector attractive to investors to boost the country's oil and gas production.

He urged Pertamina to increase the production of its refineries by cooperating with the private sector.

He also urged the company to enhance its performance through an efficiency program. (gis)