RI's Bioremediation Case Attracts World Attention : Forum

Pekanbaru, Riau (Antara) - Upstream Oil and Gas Communications Forum (FKK Hulu Migas) said bioremediation corruption case in Indonesia had attracted the attention of oil and gas business players in the world. "It attracts the world attention because it involves criminal case," FKK Hulu Migas Chairman Joang Laksanto told Antara through an electronic mail message here on Friday. Industry in general also gave serious attention to the corruption case in the bioremediation project. This was because it concerned legal certainties on business contracts and law enforcement. He said that enforcement of the law with regard to the case must be professional and fair. "We are concerned with the bioremediation project of PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia (CPI). The management of its environment program has been arranged in a ministerial decree but they are facing jail on corruption charges," he said. He said that upstream oil activities were done by contractors based on a production sharing contract (PSC) which had been agreed by the Indonesian government. PSC is a business contract between the government of Indonesia and the private sector which is in the realm of the civil law. As a business contract, according to Joang, PSC serves as a binding regulation in the realm of civil law for parties involved in it. "So, any actions against its provisions should be handled based on the civil law," Joang said. Yet, he said he still recognized the legal system in Indonesia, calling on the court to assess the case and facts in courts fairly and objectively. Joang was referring to an alleged corruption case in a bioremediation project involving CPI and two companies it had named to carry out the project. (*)