Oil, gas firms told to submit request for waiver from cabotage policy

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has asked oil and gas contractors to submit official requests for a waiver from cabotage policy, which requires companies operating in the country to use Indonesian-flagged ships.

Director General of Oil and Gas Evita H. Legowo said on Tuesday the requests should be made in details concerning the type of ship to be used, its availability and the reasons why they have to choose foreign-flagged vessels.

?We will soon set up a team to evaluate the requests. We will recommend that the Ministry of Transportation exempt from the cabotage policy only those who are qualified for the facility,? she said.

In offshore operations, oil/gas firms use various types of vessels such as Floating Storage Offloading (FSO); Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) and support vessels. Most of them carry foreign flags and have been contracted for a period beyond the date when the cabotage principle will come into effect on May 2011. (Godang)