Govt seeks to delay new environmental law implementation

The government has proposed to delay implementation of Law No. 32/2009 on Environment for at least two years, pending readiness of oil and gas contractors.

?We have talked with the coordinating minister of economy, and we've asked for the postponement of the law at least for two years, so that we can prepare our technology,? Evita H. Legowo, the director general for oil and gas at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, said on Thursday.

Evita said that the mining companies were now working to adjust their technology to comply with the law.

?Several contractors prefer to stop their activities rather than risking to break the rules, because based on the new law their activities could be considered as a crime against the law,? she said.

Evita said earlier the implementation of the 2009 environmental law would risk reducing the national oil and gas production by 40 percent and adversely affecting investment in the sector.

Meanwhile, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Darwin Zahedy Saleh said on Thursday the new environmental law is not an excuse for oil and gas production sharing contractors to miss the national production target.

Saleh asked the contractors to comply with the law, which he considered a challenge for the contractors to maintain the national oil and gas production. He said that compliance with the law would give a rise in spending. ?But like it or not, we have to allocate more money,? he added.

Despite the law, Darwin insisted that the government would fight it out to meet, if not exceed, the national oil and gas production target. He said the government would improve efficiency, such as by streamlining the bureaucratic procedures, to enable the contractors to minimize their costs. (godang)