Pertamina asked to close Elnusa Petro

Legislators in Riau province have given PT Elnusa Petro Teknik, a subsidiary of state owned oil and gas company Pertamina, until Monday to end its monopoly in handling the state oil and gas company's projects, or risk being dissolved, Riau Pos reported on Friday.

"If the company gives no response until Monday, we will hold a plenary session to shut down the company," said Adwin Malik, the chairman of the Commission C of the local legislative council. He said that a stern measure is needed to ensure a level playing ground for all business activities in the province.

The company's manager Sunaryo said he would soon report the case to Pertamina in Jakarta before giving an answer to the legislative council. But he did not mention what proposals he would forward to the Pertamina headquarter.

Elnusa Petro was established last year to handle all the contracts at Pertamina's Riau operation unit. The company's operation has, however, drew a wide criticism from local contractors because all the contracts worth above Rp 50 million are given to the new company.

The company was also charged with operating only as a rent seeker as most of the projects it received from Pertamina were subcontracted to other companies. The company's operation has threatened the existence of the local contractors, who mostly still rely on Pertamina's jobs to survive. (*)