Widodo vows to cut Pertamina’s red tape

Indonesian President Joko Widodo criticised Pertamina for insufficient investment in exploration and excessive red tape on Wednesday.

Speaking at the annual Indonesia Petroleum Association conference, President Widodo said he has instructed the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry to reduce regulations on the industry to attract investment.

“I need to remind our ministries that our regulations are not conducive [to investment]. They are still convoluted, there are still a lot of procedures and they are still complicated,” Reuters quoted the president as saying. 

“I want to know which regulations are still creating headaches,” he added. “Please report to me or the minister.”

Indonesia’s oil industry has steadily declined over the past 20 years. Reaching a peak of 1.6 million bopd in 1995, Indonesia became a net importer in 2004. In 2016, the country produced 881,000 bopd.