MEMR to revise gas regulation due to protests from gas traders
Tuesday, January 26 2016 - 12:05 PM WIB
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) is revising the newly-issued ministerial regulation which restricts private companies from buying and selling gas.
?(The revision process) is now in the administrative stage,? Director General of Oil and Gas IGN Wiratmaja said.
He did not explain the reason behind the revision plan but the ministerial regulation has drawn protest from the Indonesia Natura Gas Trader Association (INGTA) who claims the regulation creates obstacles for private companies to do gas trading business.
The MEMR No. 37/2015 on Rules and Procedures for Price Setting and Allocations of Gas, which was issued last November, prioritizes the allocation of gas for state owned enterprises owned by the central and regional governments and private companies which already have built their own gas infrastructures. Under the regulation, private companies who do not have their own infrastructures are barred from having gas allocations.
The new regulation replaces MEMR Regulation No. 3/2010 on Allocation and Utilization of Natural Gas for the Fulfillment of Domestic Needs, which allowed private companies to trading gas even though they did not have their own infrastructures. The companies were allowed to lease the pipelines owned by state owned gas distributor PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) or PT Pertamina Gas (Pertagas), a subsidiary of state owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina.
Editing by Johannes Simbolon