0 Energy and Mineral Resources Deputy to Head SKMigas

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Friday appointed Rudi Rubiandini, the energy and mineral resources deputy minister, to head the nation’s upstream oil and gas regulator. Yudhoyono said he made the choice following a screening of several prospective candidates. “The concerned [Rudi] served with BPMigas for three years and is therefore capable of heading SKMigas,” Yudhoyono said in a press conference at his office. 

The president said that because SKMigas was an institution responsible for creating policies and regulations for the oil and gas industry, it would be difficult to house the body under state oil and gas firm Pertamina. He said potential conflicts of interest were the reason for forming an entirely separate regulatory unit. The president said SKMigas would stand as an independent institution that was neither beholden to the Energy and Mineral Resources Minister nor Pertamina. 

Yudhoyono said the separation of SKMigas from the two institutions would allow the institution to work in a professional, accountable and objective manner. The president also said that the post left by Rudi would be filled by Susilo Siswoutomo, currently a special staff member to the energy and mineral resources minister. “Our need for energy — electricity or fuel or gas — is rising steeply. Therefore there needs to be the right policy and management to assure that what may take place in the mid- and long term in this sector can be estimated,” he said. 

He said that in order to meet rising demand for energy, it was imperative that the country step up its supply. The president said the government did not have the means to do this alone and added that, recognizing this, cooperation and foreign investment in the industry were necessary. “What is important is that all oil and gas activities conducted by domestic or foreign enterprises should be done correctly. Irregular practices should be prevented,” he said. Yudhoyono is scheduled to swear in Rudi and Susilo on Tuesday. 

Rudi, 50, was appointed as the energy and mineral resources deputy minister in June of last year. He had been the deputy head of operations at BPMigas, the former state upstream oil and gas regulator, since August of last year. He graduated from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) and later the Technische Universitaet Clausthal in Germany, specializing in petroleum engineering. He spent his early career as a lecturer at ITB before joining BPMigas. 

Yudhoyono said Rudi had the knowledge and commitment to develop Indonesia’s energy and mineral resources. “I consider him capable of developing program policies and action plans, as well as working to develop mineral and energy resources and national energy,” Yudhoyono said. Several analysts have welcomed Rudi’s appointment, saying he had the ability to lead the newly formed institution. SKMigas was set up in November after the Constitutional Court ruled that its predecessor, BPMigas, was unconstitutional.

source : the jakarta globe