Ministry to open up oil, gas data to investors

By Bonha Ventura Sebayang

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources will soon issue a new ministerial regulation to open up the country?s oil and gas data including results of general survey, exploration and exploitation.

Director General of Oil and Gas at the ministry IGN Wiratmaja Puja said on Wednesday that under the planned new policy, investors including overseas can have access to the data for free via online system, a move that is expected to help lure fresh investment in the country?s upstream oil and gas sector.

He said that investors wishing to have access to the country?s oil and gas data must be registered with the ministry first. The ministry will then make verification to screen out dubious investors.

Wiratmaja said that investors are currently facing difficulties in getting the data required to make investment decision. The investors have also to pay for the data including from the ministry, whose data are also limited as many existing oil and gas contractors have not submitted the exploration and exploitation data they have.

He said that under the planned new regulation, the oil and gas contractors will be obliged to submit the data to the ministry, which will then select which data can be opened up to prospective investors and which are considered as classified.

?Currently, investors are facing difficulties in obtaining the data. Many who have to buy it in the black market,? he said, adding that in many cases the data they obtained are incomplete.

He said that Mexico is one of the countries which have been successful in luring fresh investment into the upstream oil and gas sector among others by opening up the oil and gas data and providing attractive revenue split scheme.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak