Former Pertamina director charged over US$23.3 mil dodgy deal
Thursday, January 11 2001 - 04:30 AM WIB
Faisal Abda'oe, former director of the state-owned oil and gas enterprise Pertamina, has been charged with causing around US$ 23.3 million in losses to the state.
In a press conference Wednesday, Spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office Muljohardjo said that Faisal was questioned as a suspect by the AGO today. The questioning centered on discrepancies in a technical assistance contract (TAC) between PT Ustraindo Petro Gas (UPG) and Pertamina.
Muljohardjo explained that Faisal was questioned on why there was a component of the TAC involving production cost funding for the contractor, in this case PT UPG.
"Because in the TAC contract in Santa Fe (Irian Jaya), Lirik (Riau) and Jambi (Central Java), Pertamina didn't cover any of the production costs of the contractor," he said.
In addition, Muljohardjo said that there was an indication that PT UPG had received special treatment in the TAC contract overseen by Pertamina and the Pertamina Board of Directors.
In the contract, as Pertamina director, Faisal should not have given production cost funding to the contractor. Muljohardjo said that if oil was produced by Pertamina itself, the cost should be between 12-13 dollars per barrel.
"But in the Bunyu project, Pertamina was forced to spend 18 dollars per barrel. In this case, the total losses to the state reached US$ 23,3 million," he added. (*)