Customs office impounds drilling equipments

The customs and excise office has impounded a number of drilling equipments imported by oil and gas producers on the grounds they violate the Trade Minister?s new regulation on imports of iron and steel products, Kontan reported on Wednesday.

Evita Legowo, the Director General of Oil and Gas at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, protested the move on Tuesday, saying drilling equipment should be exempted from the regulation because they would be used to support the operation of oil and gas producers in the country.

According to the regulation issued in April, only registered importers/producers are allowed to import iron and steel related products.

She called on the Ministry of Trade to revise the regulation to exempt oil and gas drilling equipment imported from the new import procedures. ?The revision is needed because obtaining an import permit will be difficult and take time,? she added.

Meanwhile, Partogi Pangaribuan, Director of Imports at the Ministry of Trade, said he understood the difficulties faced by oil and gas companies, and promised to discuss the case with the Office of Coordinating minister for the Economy.

?Obtaining an import permit will not be difficult and will not take time,? he said while promising that his office would discuss the possibility of exempting drilling equipment from the regulation with the office of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy. (*)