Indonesian Government Owes Pertamina $6.8b for Compensation of Cost Differences

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – The Indonesian government owes state energy company PT Pertamina 96.5 trillion rupiahs ($6.8 billion), Pertamina’s president director said on Monday, June 29.

Pertamina’s Nicke Widyawati said that the debt was documented as the government compensation of cost differences in recommended retail price (HJE) from 2017 to 2019.

“The amount of government debt stood at 20.78 trillion rupiahs in 2017, 44.85 trillion rupiahs in 2018, and 30.86 trillion rupiahs in 2019. The total amount reached 96.5 trillion,” said Nicke during a meeting with House Commission VI overseeing trade, industry, investment, cooperatives, small-medium enterprises, and state-owned enterprises.

Nicke added that this year the government promised to pay 45 trillion rupiahs, while the remaining amount will be paid in the following years.

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"With this year's disbursement of 45 trillion rupiahs, there is still a balance of 51.5 trillion rupiahs, which is scheduled to be paid next year and the year after," Nicke said.

She hoped that the fund can be disbursed soon, which will be used to help Pertamina's working capital in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The company's sales have significantly dropped. As of yesterday, the decline was almost 25 percent," she said.

PT Pertamina produced 420,400 barrels of crude oil per day and 2,887.9 million cubic feet of gas per day (mmscfd) in the first quarter of 2020, slightly below this year’s target production of about 430,000 bpd of crude and 2,857 mmscfd of gas as announced last year.

(Writer : Akhdi Martin Pratama | Editor : Erlangga Djumena)

Source: https://money.kompas.com/read/2020/06/29/130800726/dirut-pertamina--pemerintah-punya-utang-rp-96-5-triliun.