Jakarta: Energy majors worried about Jakarta’s possible moves to cap international involvement in the local oil and gas scene will have breathed a sigh of relief with news yesterday that the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s secretary to the directorate general of oil and gas affairs, Edy Hermantoro, was on the record as saying international involvement will be vital to tap increasingly difficult to reach deepwater energy deposits. The nation’s energy regulator BPMigas was recently dissolved leading many big energy firms on edge about future contracts in the archipelago amid rising nationalist sentiment for local firms to have greater control of energy reserves.
“There is no need to be fussy. In reality, its about which companies have the guts to pour in $200m just to drill one well in deep waters to find oil reserves. Only a small number of multinational oil and gas firms globally are brave enough to do so,” Edy said.
Edy is seen as a likely candidate as the next oil and gas director general at the ministry. [20/12/12]
