Ari Soemarno to become Pertamina?s new boss: Official

The government has appointed marketing director Ari Soemarno as the new president of state oil and gas company Pertamina, replacing Widya Purnama, a move that could pave the way for a quick settlement of the dispute between the state company and U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil over the Cepu block, a governmental official said on Wednesday.

Widya has become the central figure in Pertamina?s opposition against the government?s plan to let ExxonMobil lead in the operation of the block in Central and East Java that is believed to contain billions of barrels of oil.

Pertamina and ExxonMobil have been locked in dispute over the Cepu block for years with Pertamina insisting to lead the management of the block in the first years of operation in a partnership with ExxonMobil. But, many government officials prefer ExxonMobil taking the lead in the operation.

?The job-transfer ceremony is scheduled to be held at 6.30 p.m today at the office of the state minister of state enterprises,? the office?s spokesman Andi Ch Hassan said in a memo sent via SMS.

Along with Ari Sumarno, the government has also appointed Iin Arifin Takhyan as the vice president, Suroso as the downstream director, Sukusen Soemarinda as the upstream director, Achmad Faisal as the director of commerce and marketing, Soni Soemarsono as the director of general affairs and human resources, and Frederik Siahaan as the director of finance. (*)