House expected to pass oil and gas bill in August

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said he expected the House of Representatives to approve the government-proposed oil and gas bill in August this year.

"I'm optimistic that this will be passed this time. I expect the House will approve this bill before we celebrate Independence Day Aug. 17 this year," he was quoted by Dow Jones Newswires as saying on Monday in Singapore.

He said his office and the House will hold "intensive discussions from now through July," to promote the passage of the oil and gas law.

Under the proposed bill, the government plans to end the monopoly of state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina in the upstream and downstream sectors. Pertamina will have to compete with other oil and gas companies, mostly large international companies, to operate oil and gas blocks.

Currently, Pertamina holds exclusive exploration and exploitation rights, although it is allowed to contract the blocks out.

The previous House, which was dominated by the Golkar party, rejected the bill in 1999, arguing that Pertamina should keep its exclusive rights in the country's oil and gas upstream industry. (*)