Ministry asked to clarify Pertamina?s LNG marketing fee

By Febry Silaban

The Ministry of Finance has asked the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources to clarify who is responsible for paying state owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina?s (Persero) LNG marketing fee.

?We just talked about the fee payable to Pertamina for marketing the LNG from Bontang and Arun (LNG plants). It is about the government?s payment mechanism,? Minister of Finance Bambang Brojonegoro said following a coordination meeting with upstream authority SKK Migas? Chairman Amien Sunaryadi and Director of Oil and Gas Program Oversight Agus Cahyo Nardi on Thursday.

Bambang does not see any problem as far as new LNG plants are concerned. Problem however remains with the old LNG plants, he said.

?We just want to solve the absence-of-regulation problem. There should a clear regulation (on the matter). I thus asked the minister of energy and mineral resources to make it clear,? Bambang said.

Agus said there is a disagreement over the issue. ?This is actually an old problem. A business entity which is tasked to market the LNG deserves some fee. The question is who is going to pay? Who is going to shoulder the payment burden? This should be clarified,? he said.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon