House to examine would-be executives of oil, gas regulatory body this month

The House of Representatives (DPR) will this month examine 18 people, of whom nine will be appointed chairman and members of the management board of the newly formed regulatory agency which manages oil products and their distribution along with natural gas pipeline transportation, a government official said Friday.

?DPR will conduct due diligence on them this month,? TA Nur Winakun, spokesman of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, told Petromindo.Com.

The 18 people included legislator Tubagus Haryono; Eri Purnomo Hadi, chairman of National Entrepreneurs Association; and Nur Winakun.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri on December 30, 2002, signed a decree to establish the regulatory agency.

The decree stipulates that the President has authority to appoint chairman and members of the new body, and that they should be professionals.

Besides managing oil products, the downstream body will authorize private companies to distribute oil products to remote areas in Indonesia. Also, it will decide natural gas pipeline tariffs.

The formation of the regulatory body was based on the current oil and gas law which became effective late in 2001.

Under the same law, the government established last July BPMIGAS which holds the highest authority over the country?s upstream oil and gas sector. (godang)