Jakarta – State-owned oil and gas corporation Pertamina has dismissed 19,000 employees in a bid to reduce inefficiency.
Pertamina President Director Baihaqi Hakim told the press at the Finance Ministry here yesterday that the company now has 27,000 employees, down from a previous total of 46,000.
Baihaqi also discussed the follow-up to the results of the efficiency audit on Pertamina. However he added that efficiency alone was not enough for Pertamina. "Pertamina needs total restructuring, including a revised organizational structure. The new structure is expected to come into effect as of January 1, 2001," Baihaqi said.
Baihaqi Hakim disclosed that Pertamina's Balongan refinery in Indramayu, West Java, had been a problem right from the start. He said the refinery – where a malfunction was cited as the reason behind last week's erratic fuel supply in Jakarta – had several weaknesses, including the absence of a backup system.
"I felt the problems right from the start. How come it doesn't even have a backup system? Other plants are not like that, and problems like these do not prevent them from operating. "But, in Balongan, even a small problem can result in total shut down," Baihaqi said.
He was speaking at a press conference held to discuss the follow-up to the efficiency audit on the State Logistics Board (Bulog), Pertamina, state electricity enterprise PLN and the Reforestation Fund.
Baihaqi added that the system adopted at the Balongan refinery was a single-line system without any backup, thus making it highly vulnerable to operational problems. He claimed, however, that the Balongan plant had been able to pump out the fuel after a build-up of stocks.
"For the time being, there are no more problems at Balongan, and it has resumed production," he added. "The question now is how to fill up the Plumpang depot [in Jakarta]. Perhaps, the quickest way is the use of tankers," Baihaqi said.
Commenting on 159 reported cases of corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN) cases within Pertamina, Baihaqi said he had officially submitted 13 cases to the Attorney General's Office. "Actually, there are 14 cases. But, the Sentul Circuit case has been combined with that of former president Soeharto's," he said.
Of the remaining cases, Baihaqi noted that not all cases uncovered by the auditors could be followed up via the process of litigation. "Some have been abandoned, others have to be be examined further. We are also reporting on the Bontang [natural gas liquefaction plant in East Kalimantan] case. We are not stopping at just these 159 cases," he said.
According to Baihaqi, Pertamina has also decided to carry out a decentralization program in the decision-making process for the procurement of goods and services, bunker services and reservoir management team.