Pertamina recovers US$60m in potential loss from gas transport contract
By R. Amoros
Tuesday, May 23 2000 - 04:10 AM WIB
After 16 months of negotiation, the state oil and gas firm Pertamina has finally secured a deal with Japanese gas tanker owners and Indonesia's Humpuss Group to recover some US$60 million in potential loss resulted from gas transport contract signed with the tanker consortium in 1994.
Humpuss and the Japanese consortium would install the $60 million funds.
Pertamina spokesman Ramli Djaafar said on Monday that it's also decided that Humpuss would withdraw from the ownership of the tanker consortium.
He said that Humpuss ownership would all be taken by the Japanese owners, which include Mitsui OSK Line, NYK and Nissho Iwai.
Ramli said that it was also agreed that Pertamina would have ownership in the tanker after the contract expired in 2010.
Pertamina first signed the contract in 1994. The contract was made even prior to Pertamina getting gas sale contract. This was possible because Humpuss was owned by Hutomo Mandala Putra, the son of former authoritarian president Soeharto.
Pertamina was doing fine with the shipping contract until 1999 because it was still getting profit from its gas sale contract. But starting in 2000, Pertamina started to suffer losses, which potentially amounted to $60 million. (*)