Minister officially delegates licensing authority to BKPM

By Godang Sitompul

Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Sudirman Said officially on Wednesday delegated his licensing authority to the One-Door Integrated Service (PSTP) Center at the Capital Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM).

The letter of delegation of oil and gas licensing authority was handed over the minister to BKPM?s Chairman Franky Sibarani on the sidelines of the 39th Indonesian Petroleum Association Convention and Exhibition 2015 (IPA CONVEX 2015).

The PSTP Center was established early this year on the instruction of President Joko Widodo, aimed at simplifying licensing process for businesses. With the PSTP Center, investors do not need to go to various ministries to obtain licenses any longer as they now can obtain the licenses at BKPM.

Sudirman said the ministry is committed to making easier for investors to do business in the oil and sector. Aside from delegating its licensing authority to BKPM, the ministry has also cut the number of permits for the oil and gas sector to 42, from 52 last year, Sudirman said, adding two years ago, the number of permits reached 102.

?Our regulations must be overhauled. We need to send a signal to investors that we are making them simpler, clearer, simpler and more predictable,? Sudirman said.

All the 42 permits can be applied for at BKPM. ?Today, we are handing over all the licensing process to be handled at BKPM as contact point. Indeed, there are some process that will still be handled at the directorate general of oil and gas or SKK Migas. Still, the contact point remains at BKPM,? he said.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon