Pertamina delays signing of PPC

State-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina has delayed the signing of a cooperation agreement on its working areas with the government, the Bisnis Indonesia reported in its Wednesday edition.

The so-called Pertamina Petroleum Contract (PPC) was supposed to be signed by the government last Sunday (December 12, 2004), along with several other cooperation agreements.

Pertamina?s president director Widya Purnama has admitted that the PPC was intitally put on the list of 15 oil and gas contracts that were signed on Sunday.

?The PPC has yet to be signed as the State Minister for State Enterprises is still studying it to make sure that everything is clear," Widya said.

According to one source, the delay occurred due to a potential violation of Oil and Gas Law No. 22/2001. The law says that a cooperation agreement only covers one area or block, whereas the PPC covers all the 10 blocks owned by Pertamina. (*)