President Prabowo Serious About Eradicating Oil and Gas Mafia, DPR Urges Working Committee to Investigate Pertamina Corruption

Jakarta – The government under the leadership of President Prabowo Subianto has shown its seriousness in eradicating the oil mafia by fully supporting the investigation into alleged corruption in the management of crude oil and refinery products at PT Pertamina (Persero) for the 2018-2023 period. This case has become increasingly of concern after Commission VI of the Indonesian House of Representatives pushed for the formation of a Working Committee (Panja) to investigate further corrupt practices that are detrimental to the state.

Deputy Chairman of Commission VI of the DPR, Adisatrya Suryo Sulisto, revealed that many members have requested that the Working Committee be formed immediately.

“There have been many requests from members of Commission VI (to) encourage the existence of this Working Committee,” he said.

He also expressed support for the proposal, although the final decision still awaits further discussion.

“I agree, we will discuss it further in Commission VI and the decision will be made soon,” he added.

The case surfaced after the Attorney General’s Office named the President Director of PT Pertamina Patra Niaga, Riva Siahaan, as a suspect for alleged fuel adulteration, where Pertalite was allegedly mixed and sold as Pertamax. The Attorney General’s Office has also named nine suspects, including six high-ranking officials at Pertamina’s Sub Holding and three private parties involved in this illegal practice.

On the other hand, President Director of PT Pertamina (Persero), Simon Aloysius Mantiri, emphasized that Pertamina is committed to absorbing all of the government’s crude oil production to be processed at domestic refineries.

“When we give priority to domestic processing, our exports are reduced or even eliminated because we use them domestically,” Simon said.

Meanwhile, Pertamina’s Deputy President Director, Wiko Migantoro, said there were still challenges in negotiations with the Cooperation Contract Contractors (KKKS) so that they would also allocate their crude oil to domestic refineries.

“Last year our crude oil exports were around 70 thousand barrels per day. This year we are supported by the government, which the government’s share has been dedicated to refineries. However, we still have homework to negotiate with other KKKS who are still selling their oil abroad,” he said.

The alleged corruption in crude oil governance underscores the need for major reforms in the national oil and gas industry. President Prabowo Subianto’s government is committed to supporting a full investigation by the Attorney General’s Office and encouraging policies to optimize domestic energy resources.

With the encouragement from the Indonesian House of Representatives to form a Working Committee, as well as the government’s steps to increase transparency in the oil and gas sector, it is hoped that similar corruption scandals will not occur again in the future.