PT Caltex revenue row a misperception: Kuntoro
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Mines and Energy Kuntoro Mangkusubroto said on Friday the controversy over the amount of oil revenue received by the government from PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia last year was the result of an accounting misperception.
"The row occurred because there was a misperception over the accounting system," Kuntoro said in Bangkalan, East Java, on the sidelines of a ceremony to inaugurate the operation of the power cable linking Java and Madura.
"I can't explain it to you right now. I have to write on a board to explain the technical details," he told Antara.
Caltex, which develops a huge oil reserve in Riau, earlier said it had contributed US$2.06 billion or Rp 17 trillion as well as oil shares and taxes in 1998. But Minister of Finance Bambang Subianto said the government only received Rp 6.2 trillion that year.
The huge discrepancy led Riau people to believe the remaining Rp 10.8 trillion was embezzled by Pertamina.
Head of Pertamina's foreign contractors management body Gatot K. Wiroyudo, earlier denied the allegation, saying under existing regulations Pertamina had the right to manage the operation of foreign oil and gas companies, but not government oil revenue.
Under the regulation, Caltex is obliged to transfer taxes to the finance minister's account, while buyers of the government's oil share sold by Pertamina make payments directly to the central bank.
Fuel
Kuntoro insisted Pertamina must report to him on the breakdown of the production costs of each fuel type.
"It is a must. Who is Pertamina? Don't make any excuses. If the government says the company has to disclose the production cost of all types of fuel, it must follow the order."
Kuntoro earlier said the government had never been informed of the production cost of fuels produced by Pertamina. The company released only average production costs, without explaining the breakdown of costs for the various products.
As a consequence, the government was unaware of the correct subsidy amount required for each fuel, Kuntoro said.
Pertamina acting finance director Bambang Wiranto acknowledged the company had never calculated the production cost of fuel types.
He said there was no accounting system available to enable the company to make the calculations.
He said to calculate the production cost of fuel, Pertamina used a manual provided by the government-appointed international consultancy firm Cooper and Lybrands.
A formula to calculate the production cost of each type of fuel was not specified in the manual, he said.
Kuntoro requested the media not play him off against Pertamina over the issue.
"Why turn it into a controversy? Pertamina is owned by the government. So, if there is an order to report the breakdown of fuel costs, the company simply has to do it," he said. (jsk)