Bahlil Asks Pertamina To Release Unemployed Wells, Minister Of Energy And Mineral Resources Mita Is Immediately

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arifin Tasrif (Photo: Doc. Maria Trisnawati/VOI)

NUSA Dua - Investment Minister/Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Bahlil Lahadalia asked PT Pertamina (Persero) to release idle or inactive wells to local investors so that they can be reactivated.

In line with this statement, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Arifin Tasrif said that his party had indeed asked Pertamina to cooperate with oil and gas companies both at home and abroad to cooperate through Operational Cooperation (KSO) and even include the option to release these wells.

The regulation is also contained in the Regulation of the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Number 1 of 2008 concerning Guidelines for Entrepreneurship of Oil Mining at Old Wells.

"We have asked that it be cooperated or released, we have given the rules for it to already exist from the Ministry," Arifin told the media crew on the sidelines of The 4th International Convention on Indonesian Upstream Oil and Gas (ICIUOG) 2023, in Nusa Dua, Bali, Friday 22 September.

He added that previously there was a Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation (Permen) stating that all unproduction wells belonged to Pertamina.

"That it is permissible to be empowered, to be released directly or Pertamina wants to cooperate. We really ask that all of that can be resolved immediately," said Arifin.

Previously, Bahlil said that if Pertamina held control of 70 percent of the total 10,000 oil and gas wells in Indonesia. For this reason, he said, in a limited meeting with President Joko Widodo, he was given directions for idle wells and had matured and could no longer be optimized by Pertamina to be given to national private oil and gas entrepreneurs.

If later it cannot be handled by a new domestic company, it will be released to entrepreneurs from abroad.

"Or collaboration. You can no longer worry about yourself. Don't feel like this is our country, but don't let our ability to ride a chicken-powered horse, it doesn't matter either," continued Bahlil.