KPPU dismisses Australian firm?s complaint over Donggi-Senoro project

Business competition watchdog KPPU has decided to discontinue investigation into the alleged unfairness in the selection process of Japanese firm Mitsubishi Corp. to become the developer of the Donggi-Senorov LNG project in Central Sulawesi.

The complaint regarding the alleged unfairness was filed by PT LNG Energi Utama, the subsidiary of Australian firm LNG Limited.

?The complaint document is not complete. The KPPU Regulation No. 15, 2006 states in Chapter 15 that if a complaint document is not complete, the (investigation of) the case will be discontinued,? KPPU communication director A Junaedi said on Wednesday.

He did not provide details about the incomplete document.

The complaint by the Australian firm was one of the reasons behind the years-long delay of the project. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is still unwilling to approve of the project, because of among others the complaint filed by the Australian firm to the KPPU.

LNG Limited claimed that it had signed an exclusivity agreement with state owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina and PT Medco Energi International in 2005, allowing it to build an LNG plant in Luwuk are with gas supplied from Pertamina and Medco?s fields.

However, Pertamina and Medco later appointed Mitsubishi as the developer of the LNG plant after holding a beauty contest. The three firms have event set up a consortium called Donggi-Senoro LNG (DSNLG). Donggi and Senoro are the names of the gas fields owned by Pertamina and Medco that will supply the LNG plant.

Medco welcome the decision.

?I think KPPU is right and focused. As a matter of fact, there was nothing wrong occurring in the beauty contest,? Medco?s manager Aditya Mandala said on Wednesday. (Godang)