Gus Dur may have personal interest in CPP

President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid may a have personal interest when he decided recently to allow the provincial administration of Riau to manage and operate the Coastal Plain Pekanbaru (CPP) oil block.

Gus Dur would join forces with China National Oil Company in operating the oil block with the local government, according to rumors circulated at the House of Representatives (DPR). The rumors were widely published by newspapers and online news services on Thursday but none of the news providers received the confirmation from either Gus Dur or the Chinese oil company.

Iwan Prayitno, a member of the Commission VIII of the House, confirmed that rumor saying that the President had a personal interest in the CPP oil block was nothing new to House members. "The fact that Riau province steadfastly refused the involvement of Pertamina and Caltex Pacific Indonesia indicated that there must be a strong people behind it," he said.

Gus Dur asked the Ministry of Mines and Energy last month to allow the province to manage and operate the CPP oil block when the current contract, now held by Caltex, ended in August next year. The President's move was made amid a rising demand from the oil rich province to control its natural resources.

The ministry supported the President's decision and proposed three options in managing the oil block. The options, which offered the local government to operate the oil block in cooperation either with Pertamina or Caltex or both, were however rejected. The province instead demanded to operate the oil block with partners of its own choices. (*)