Private gas traders may get gas allocations as long as they have infrastructures

By Bernard Loebs

The revision of the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) Regulation No. 37/2015 on Procedures and Methods for Setting Gas Allocation and Prices will allow private gas traders to get gas allocations as long as they already have gas infrastructures of their own.

This was said by Director General of Oil and Gas IGN Wiratmaja on Monday during a press conference.

?Companies which do not have infrastructures will not be allowed to get gas allocations. They must already have infrastructures as a requirement to get gas allocations,? Wiratmaja said.

The MEMR Regulation No. 37/2015 was issued last November. Due to strong protests from gas traders, the ministry finally revised it. Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Sudirman Said said recently it had signed the revision of the regulation and it would be issued once ?administrative requirements? have been fulfilled.

Wiratmaja said the revision is centered on priority. In the MEMR Regulation 37/2015, state owned enterprises (SOEs_ either owned by the central or regional governments were given priorities over private companies. In the revision, there isn?t such priority any longer.

?In the revision, SOEs and private companies may get gas allocations as long as they own or control gas infrastructures to receive the gas,? he said.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon