Riau not ready to take over CPP

Fromer president director of state oil and gas company Pertamina Martiono Hadianto said over the weekend that the demand of the provincial administration of Riau to take over the Coastal Plain Pekanbaru (CPP) oil block was unrealistic as the province did not only lack financial sources but also technology to manage the oil block.

"Even this Republic (Indonesia) is not capable to manage the oil block," he said, adding that the Riau province needed much more time to prepare it before being fully engaged in oil exploration and production activities.

He also urged the Riau province to learn from the mistake made by the government, particularly Pertamina in the oil and mining industry. He said that the government had never been ready to manage its own oil and gas industry because it never tried to grab knowledge and technology needed in doing the job.

Martiono, who was replaced by former Caltex President Baihaki Hakim last month, said that the country's human resources in the oil sector remained weak despite the fact that it had been engaged in the oil and gas industry for more than 30 years. (*)