Govt asked to reject Pertamina?s plan to acquire Medco

A legislator has asked the government to reject the plan of the state oil and gas company Pertamina to acquire a majority stake in Medco Energi Internasional.

Speaking during a meeting between State Enterprises Minister Mustafa Abubakar and the House of Representatives' Commission VI, Nasril Bahar, a member of the commission, said that the acquisition of Medco would not bring much benefits to Pertamina.

?According to a rumor, the acquisition is just a kind of tactics to steal from Pertamina,? he said. The acquisition plan should therefore be prevented to ensure that the state oil and gas company will not suffer losses from the transaction, he added.

Pertamina has said that it would acquire Arifin Panigoro?s ownership in Encore Energy which owns a majority stake in the Medco. With the acquisition, Pertamina can benefit from a number of oil fields operated by Medco.

Meanwhile Pertamina?s senior executive Frederick Siahaan said that Pertamina was conducting a due diligence audit on Medco to assess the value of the entire assets owned by Medco.

?The final decision on the acquisition plan has not been made,? he said.

Meanwhile Minister Musatafa said that the government had not yet approved the acquisition plan. (godang)