Gas traders given until 2018 to build infrastructure facilities

By Febry Silaban

Private gas traders are given two years to build own infrastructure facilities if they wish to continue their business according to a new Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation No 6/2016 which was issued on February 24.

The new regulation, which is a revision of Ministerial Regulation No 37/2015, requires private gas traders to have own infrastructure facilities to be able to obtain gas allocation from the government.

Chapter 35 of the new regulation says that gas traders must meet the new requirement within two years after the issuance of the regulation, or in 2018.

?We?re pushing for the development gas infrastructures by the private gas traders,? said minister Sudirman Said during a hearing with the House of Representatives Commission VII on energy and mining on Tuesday.

An investigation carried out by upstream oil and gas authority SKK Migas has revealed that there a total of 74 gas traders, of which only 15 have infrastructure facilities.

Director General of Oil and Gas at the ministry IGN Wiratmaja Puja said several gas traders developing mini gas pipelines can combine their projects to build a larger network.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak