State mining and energy firms told to improve efficiency
State mining and energy firms told to improve efficiency
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto has urged state mining and
energy companies to become more efficient and called for a
nationwide drive for power conservation.
"The mining and energy sector, which is very strategic for
developing our industries as well as for attracting new
investments and generating foreign exchange earnings, needs more
efficient and effective management," the President said in his
speech at the opening of a three-day workshop at the Ministry of
Mines and Energy at the State Palace yesterday.
He said that the government is aware that oil prices are still
declining and "I don't think that the prices will soon recover,"
he said.
Given this fact, he said that production costs need to come
down.
Wile oil prices fluctuate at between US$13 and $14 per barrel,
Pertamina claims that its production costs range between $6 and
$8 per barrel.
Minister of Mines and Energy Ida Bagus Sudjana said that his
ministry is committed to streamlining licensing procedures for
investment in mining and energy.
The meeting yesterday proceeded at Pertamina's headquarters
after the opening ceremony at the State Palace. Today,
Coordinating Minister for Economy and Finance Saleh Afiff and
Sate Minister of Administrative Reforms T.B. Silalahi, are
scheduled to address around 360 officials.
The director for private electricity affairs at the
Directorate General of Electricity, Moeljadi Oetji, told The
Jakarta Post that the planned efficiency improvements will be
also implemented in the procedures for licensing power projects.
"Procedures for the licensing of the construction of a gas-
fueled electricity plant, for example, still take around 1.5
years and coal-fired and geothermal power plants take four years
each," he said.
President Soeharto suggested that Indonesia accelerate
diversification of energy production and utilization to reduce
dependence on oil, the reserves of which are limited.
The operation of diesel plants by industry, for example,
should be reduced gradually because electricity supplies by the
State Electricity Company (PLN) have been increasing.
"We are no longer in an electricity crisis and the operation
of diesel powered generators by industrial plants should be
gradually reduced for the benefit of the nation and the companies
themselves," Soeharto said. (fhp)