Government meets industry players to revise controversial regulations
Friday, July 28 2017 - 02:38 AM WIB
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources met on Thursday with energy and mining industry players to seek inputs for the revision of new Ministerial Regulation No 42/2017.
The ministry decided to revise the regulation, issued on July 17, which among others stipulate that changes in share ownership and board of directors of energy and mining companies require the approval of the minister in a bid to bolster oversight of the oil and gas, electricity, and mining sectors. Industry players protested the regulation as it is tantamount to excessive intervention of the bureaucracy that would hamper business operations.
?We?re discussion the regulation, how it should be. The essence (of the ministerial regulation) is to improve investment climate, not to extend the bureaucracy,? Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arcandra Tahar said.
Industry players welcome the ministry?s decision to revise the controversial regulation.
Arcandra said that the ministry will also revise dozens of other ministerial regulations issued during the past year. ?I will discuss this with the minister after he returns from the US,? he said. President Joko Widodo at a cabinet meeting earlier this week criticized Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Ignasius Jonan for issuing regulations that are seen to hamper fresh investment in the energy and mining sectors.
Among of the much-criticized regulations in the oil and gas sector is a new policy to apply so-called gross split scheme in new oil and gas contracts.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak