"Natuna waters are rich in oil and gas," he said here on Wednesday.
On its part, the ministry will evaluate oil and gas contractors in Natuna waters, which is one of the countrys outlying areas, he said.
The evaluation is aimed to see which oil and gas contractors have seemingly stopped operating or are operating only temporarily, he said.
The evaluation is necessary at a time when global crude prices are going down. When the global crude prices recover in the future, the oil and gas sector will attract investors again, he said.
Member of the House Commission VII Kurtubi of the National Democrat Party faction had earlier said that creation of a state-owned holding company will have a positive impact on the integrated management of oil and gas sector. Moreover, Indonesia is in dire need of large gas infrastructure, he said.
"The gas infrastructure can be built using state budget funds," he said.
It is impossible to leave the construction and management of national gas infrastructure to state gas company PGN that has 43 percent of its shares held by the public, including foreign companies or institutions, he said.
Chief of the Downstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Agency (BPH Migas) Andi Noorsaman Someng said the creation of state-owned holding company will help resolve any disputes between PGN and PT Pertamina Gas (Pertagas), a subsidiary of state oil and gas company Pertamina, in the field.
"In addition, the state-owned holding company will also help increase efficiency, particularly when it comes to the construction of pipelines," he said.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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