KPPU rules in favor of Australian LNG Ltd
Pertamina, Medco, Mitsubishi fined for breaking the law
Wednesday, January 5 2011 - 07:41 AM WIB
The Donggi Senoro consortium includes state owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina, PT Medco Energi International and Japanese firm Mitsubishi Corporation. They plan to build a mini LNG plant in central Sulawesi using gas from fields owned by Pertamina and Medco.
The KPPU concluded that state owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina (Persero), PT Medco Energi International, Medco E&P Tomori and Japanese firm Mitsubishi Corp. has violated Law No. 5/1999 on the Prohibition of Monopoly Practices and Unfair Competition, Nawir Messi, a commissioner at KPPU which reviewed the complaint filed by LEU, told reporters on Wednesday.
The KPPU imposes fines on the companies for violating the law, including Rp 10 billion (US$=Rp 8,975) on Pertamina, Rp 5 billion on Medco Energi International, Rp 1 billion on Medco E&P Tomori and Rp 15 billion on Mitsubishi.
?The firms are given 14 days to decide whether to accept or appeal the ruling,? Nawir said.
LNG Ltd, through LEU, filed a complaint against the companies on the grounds that it had been unfairly treated in the tender to select the developer of the LNG plant. Pertamina and Medco has selected Mitsubishi as the developer of the LNG plant.
In a statement filed by LNG Ltd with the Australian Stock Exchange in October 2008 after filing its complaint with the KPPU, the firm stated that ?Mitsubishi should have excluded itself from the selection process? since the latter had received full technical, commercial and financial information relating to LNG Ltd?s proposed LNG project, including its development cost and project delivery schedule. (Godang/Giok)