Gus Dur asks Riau governor to talk to Minister on CPP issue

A delegation from Riau led by the province's governor Saleh Djaset met with President Abdurrahman Wahid on Tuesday to convey the province's demand to have a majority stake in the Coastal Plain Pekanbaru oil block.

But in the meeting held at the President's residence, Abdurrahman who is much more popularly called Gus Dur did not give a clear answer "The President promised to reconsider the requirement," said Rusli Ahmad, one of the delegation, said after the meeting.

Speaking to DetikCom following the meeting, Rusli said that the President suggested the provincial administration to renegotiate the demand to Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro because all issues related to the operation of the CPP oil block should pass through existing mechanism.

"If I decide it alone, the people will criticize me because if it make the decision tonight, the minister will have no more works to do," Gus Dur was quoted as saying by Rusli.

The Riau administration and state oil company Pertamina have spent more than a year to negotiate the establishment of a joint venture that will run the oil block after the current contract, which is now held by Caltex Pacific Indonesia ends in August. But the negotiations have failed to produce results, as both parties demanded a majority stake in the joint venture.

The government then stepped in and ruled that Pertamina is the most rightful institution to own majority stake in the joint venture. This angered local students who said that the oil block is better closed down if the province is not given the controlling stake.

Some high ranking officials in the Riau administration have said that the locals might agree to have a majority stake as long as it is given the chance to be appointed as the operator of the CPP oil block. (*)