Riau will go ahead with plan to operate CPP
Saturday, June 3 2000 - 04:00 AM WIB
The Riau provincial administration will go ahead with its plan to operate the Coastal Plains Pekanbaru (CPP) oil block despite the central government's threat to disqualify the province, Governor Saleh Djasit said in Jakarta on Wednesday.
"We still stick to our initial plan to operate the oil block. But we have yet decided whether the oil block will be operated alone by BUMD (a company owned by provincial administration) or by a joint venture with private firms," the governor told Riau Pos in an interview shortly after a meeting with Director General of Oil and Gas Rachmat Sudibyo.
The governor acknowledged that the province has yet to submit a written proposal on how to operate the oil block but he said he was sure the proposal could be finalized and submitted to Minister of Mines and Energy before the August deadline.
He said that the province had yet to start the feasibility study before determining the province's position due to inability to access data and all information about the oil block. "We have no authority to access the information and we hope the central government will delegate the power this month," he added.
During the meeting, the governor and his expert staffs presented details of the provincial administration's plan in operating the oil block. "Pak Rachmat is happy with our presentation and he is very positive about our plan," he added.
Rachmat earlier said that Riau had until August to submit the proposal or lose the opportunity to operate the oil block. "If Riau failed to submit the proposal at the deadline, the government will reverse to the initial plan," he said referring to the three options initially proposed by the central government.
The local government was initially given three options --- to operate the oil block in cooperation with either Pertamina or Caltex Pacific Indonesia (the current contractor) or to cooperate with both of the two companies. But the province rejected the three options and it instead demanded the central government to operate the oil block with partners of its own choices when the current contract is expired in August next year. (*)