Central government asked to be transparent on oil gas production

Governor of oil and gas rich province Aceh, Abdullah Puteh, has again asked the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources to be transparent on the data of oil and gas production, newspaper Serambi reported on Tuesday.

The governor said in Banda Aceh on Monday that in order to reduce misunderstanding, it would be important that Finance Minster Budiono and Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro would join the further coming visit of the government?s top official to the province.

"We need the presence of the two ministers to explain the actual oil and gas production of the province," he was quoted as saying. According to him, the payment of the oil and gas dividend to Aceh province for the first quarter of this year had caused a controversy due to the difference in the data of the oil and gas production made by the province and that of the central government.

He said that a fair explanation from the two ministers would be quite needed so that no more controversy would occur.

The provincial administration of Aceh received about Rp 537 billion in dividend from the production of oil and gas from the province for the first quarter of this year. But the payment for the first quarter was far lower than the provincial administration?s estimate. According to the provincial administration?s calculation, the payment for the first quarter should have reached Rp 633 billion. (*)