Govt has no reason to delay transfer of CPP operation to Riau
Friday, August 4 2000 - 04:00 AM WIB
The Ministry of Mines and Energy has no reason to delay the transfer of the operation and management of the Coastal Plain Pekanbaru (CPP) to the provincial administration of Riau province because giving the local government the authority to manage the oil block has become the government's political decision.
Afan Gaffar, the deputy of the minister of regional economy, said in Jakarta on Thursday that the delay in the transfer of the oil field management to the provincial administration would certainly hurt the local people.
"Gus Dur (President Abdurrahman Wahid) has announced openly to the public that he has agreed the local proposal to operate the oil block. This has become a political decision and should be upheld," he told Riau Pos.
He also understood if rumors of the delay in the handover of the authority of the oil field had angered some groups of the local people. "It is understandable if some groups of Riau students got angry and staged protests due to rumors of the delay," he added.
Affar said that his office fully supported the local people's willingness to operate the oil block but he admitted that his office could do nothing because the decision on the matter rested on the hands of Minister of Mines and Energy.
Dozens of students grouped in the federation of Riau students staged protests in Jakarta on Wednesday demanding the government to soon transfer the authority to operate and manage the CPP oil block to the Riau government.
The protests followed the statement issued by the ministry of mines and energy that the authority to operate the oil block could be delayed because the local government could not submit its concrete proposal in managing the oil block on the deadline, set this month.
The Riau government has been required to submit in August a concrete proposal related to the amount of investment that will be injected and its business partner before being given a final approval to operate the CPP oil block in August next year.
The CPP is currently operated by PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia and its contract to manage the oil block will expire in August next year. (*)