Govt, House delay deliberation of oil and gas

The government and the House of Representatives delayed on Monday the deliberation of the oil and gas.

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro was scheduled to read his speech at a plenary meeting marking the start of the deliberation but he was unable to do so because most of the legislators were busy debating the financial scandals, which allegedly involved President Abdurrahman Wahid until the evening.

Deputy head of the House's Commission VIII, which oversees among others mines and energy affairs, Emir Moeis told reporters the House's schedule-making team would hold a meeting Tuesday to determine the new schedule for the first session on the oil and gas bill.

"I hope tomorrow (today), the schedule-making team will be able to determine the new schedule for the deliberation of the oil and gas bill," Emir told reporters.

Purnomo said he hoped the deliberation of the bill would be quick and the House could pass the bill into law in April this year.

"The debate on the bill might last until the end of the year, but we hope to speed the process up so that the bill can be passed in three to four months," Purnomo said. (Godang/Epin)