Three minister to take responsibility over Cepu block decision

The Coordinating Minister for Economy, Minister of energy and Mineral Resources and State Minister of State Enterprises and state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina's president director made a joint statement in front of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyonoon Sept. 10 regarding management of the Cepu oil and gas block, the Koran Tempo newspaper reported in its Wednesday edition.

A source from the government told the Tempo that the three ministers made the statement in front of the president as a form of their responsibility to implement the agreement on Cepu block's operation.

"The main content of their statement was if any problem occurs in the future, these three ministers must be responsible for their decisions," the source said on Tuesday.

When asked for the confirmation, State Minister of State Enterprises Sugiharto said he signed the statement.

"The signing was done as a matter of Indonesia's national interest," Sugiharto said.

Pertamina and U.S. company ExxonMobil are competing to take a major share in managing the Cepu block.

Cepu is expected to begin its production in 2007 or 2008 . It wllll increase the national oil production by 15-25 percent. (*)