Pertamina fully supports Petral

State owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina reaffirms its full support to Pertamina Trading Trading Ltd (Petral), the firm?s sole trading arm which has been the subject of controversy of late.

?All business transactions are being carried out as usual. And Petral, which is wholly owned by Pertamina, can count on a 100 percent backing of the company in its operations,? President Director of Pertamina Karen Setiawan said.

Based in Singapore, Petral helps Pertamina fulfill crude and other oil-based products needs. In 2011, Petral traded 266.42 million barrels comprising 65.74 million barrels of crude and 200.68 million barrels of processed products.

According to Vice President Corporate Communication Pertamina Mochamad Harun, Petral recorded US$47.5 million in profits last year, about 10 percent increase from a year earlier.

Petral?s existence has been called into question lately following allegations of corruption at the company. A few weeks ago, several politicians, including Ali Mochtar Nagabalin, Adhie Massardie, Marwan Batubara and Johnson Panjaitan reported indications of corruption in Petral to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

?Pertamina deplores the ?politization? of Petral recently. Oil trading business is a long term business that requires the utmost trust. We therefore assure the public and market partners that Petral remains in business as usual and has the backing of Pertamina,? Harun said, adding that Petral has always adopted good corporate governance principles in its practices and been audited by top auditor Ernst and Young.

Editing by Dadan Wijaksana