"The management of oil and gas can be separated by including a clause, to that effect, in Law No. 22/2001 on Oil and Gas, which is now under revision," noted Sukardi Rinakit, the Executive Director of Soegeng Sarjadi Syndicate, here on Thursday.
He observed that the management and utilization of oil and gas for national interest is not yet optimal, as the stakeholders of both sectors are not yet focused.
During a dialog on the revision of the law on oil and gas, while discussing the separation of the management between the two, Rinakit stated that the revision of the law should encourage the emergence of power in the hands of state-owned oil firms.
Two state-owned, publicly listed companies, PT Pertamina and PT PGN, have hitherto carried out oil and gas management functions.
Pertamina, which manages up-and-downstream natural oil resources, must be encouraged to focus on that field through internal consolidation, improvement, infrastructure development, capacity building and so forth, he observed.
The same thing should also happen with PGN, which has been carrying out management on gas natural resources, so far. A good result really needs internal consolidation and professionalism, according to Rinakit. "Pertamina should focus on oil only, while PGN should focus on managing gas professionally," noted Rinakit.
If the upstream Oil and Gas Regulator (SKK-Migas) has managed the upstream area, PGN could concentrate on the downstream sector to ensure gas distribution in all areas. Pertamina should meanwhile focus on oil refinery plant development to reduce fuel imports, noted Rinakit.
Energy analyst Hidayat Tantan put forth similar ideas. He stated that the separation between the management of oil and gas was, in reality, the need of the hour. He said that it should be acknowledged that the era of oil as a prima donna commodity is now pass. Currently, gas is a prima donna commodity and is the future hope for energy in the country.
"So, the focus must be on the management of gas. Gas should serve as the center of attention for the energy supplies in Indonesia," he added.
After all, gas can be diversified, covering conventional gas and non conventional one, such as coal bed methane, hydrated gas and so on. These do not include matters relating to its market and consumers. "This must get focused attention and management," stressed Tantan.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2013
