South Sumatera province establishes oil and gas firm

The provincial administration of South Sumatera has established an oil and gas company called BUMD Migas as part of the local government's efforts to raise more revenues from oil and gas resources, Sriwijaya Pos reported on Thursday.

Djanoeir Moenir, one of the province's senior government officials, has been appointed as the president of the oil and gas company.

Djanoeir said that the new company, in initial stages, would focus its operation in mapping out the province's tapped and untapped oil and gas resources. "But in long run, we will also be involved in exploration activities like other oil companies," he added.

South Sumatera, one of the country's gas and crude oil producers, hosts several major oil companies including PT Gulf Indonesia Resources.

Djanoeir said that the new company would also help the local administration to calculate how much it should receive from gas and oil production. "For oil, it is clear that the province will get 15 percent of the total production. But for gas, we have to determine how much we should get," he added. (*)