Ministry of Finance examining outcome of Pertamina asset revaluation

A senior government official said Wednesday that the Ministry of Finance had not yet finished studying results of the revaluation of assets of state oil and gas firm Pertamina, a step required for changing it into a limited liability company on April 1, 2003 as planned.

?The Ministry of Finance is continuing to examine the outcome of revaluation of Pertamina assets, which had been conducted by independent appraisers,? Roes Ariawijaya, deputy to the state minister of state enterprises, told Petromindo.Com.

The team tasked with drafting a government decree on the new status of Pertamina was awaiting the outcome of the Ministry of Finance?s study over the asset revaluation.

Pertamina had been planned to get limited liability status on April 1, 2003, and, if the plan materializes, it will no longer hold monopoly over the country?s upstream and downstream oil and gas sectors.

Reports said that Pertamina?s assets stand at around Rp100 trillion (US$Rp8,880), while Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said they could amount to between Rp130 trillion and Rp180 trillion if government assets like oil refineries and oil depots are transferred to it. (godang)