Pertamina upstream director to be named end of February

Minister of State Owned Enterprises Mustafa Abubakar said rumors that the government was planning to reshuffle the board of directors of state owned oil and gas firm Pertamina was not true.

He said Thursday the government is currently in the process of selecting 27 candidates for the post of upstream director of Pertamina, with the expectation that the new director could be named by the end of February.

Mustafa added that the government feels the urgent need to make official clarification to dimiss the lingering rumors as it has widespread.

?Please inform it: it is not true that there will be a reshuffle (in the board of directors of Pertamina). What is true is there is a fit and proper test on 27 candidates for the upstream director since left vacant by predecessor Karen Agustiawan,? Mustafa said.

Karen held the post in 2008-2009 before being appointed as president director of Pertamina.

As of Thursday the government has conducted fit and proper test for 24 candidates, most of whom come from with the state-owned enteprise sector. In the final round, the three names would be put forward to the final assessment team, hoping that the final name could be picked at the end of February.

Elsewhere, Mustafa said that he had met with Karen to clarify rumors that she was resigning from the Pertamina top post. ?In accordance with the regulation, the director post of Pertamina is for five years. This also applies for Karen,? he said. (*)