Jakarta – Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia, The Habibie Center, and Article 33 Indonesia held a sharing session titled “Investigating Corruption in the Governance of Crude Oil and Refinery Products at PT Pertamina” on March 18, 2024, in Jakarta. The hybrid-format event featured speakers such as Sudirman Said (Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, 2014–2016), Alamsyah Saragih (Public Policy Analyst and Chief of Board at Article 33 Indonesia), and Daniel Purba (Oil and Gas Practitioner and Member of the 2014 Oil and Gas Governance Reform Team), with moderation by R. Mouna Wasef from PWYP Indonesia.
The session discussed alleged corruption in PT Pertamina’s crude oil and refinery product governance, which is still under investigation by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO). The discussion approached the issue from legal, political, social, and business perspectives to give the public a broader understanding of the case. It also aimed to offer recommendations to push for systemic improvements in oil and gas governance.
According to the AGO, several methods were used in this corruption case, including:
- Manipulating downstream optimization meetings to justify importing crude oil and refined products while rejecting domestic crude;
- Arranging for specific brokers or companies to win oil import tenders via the Selected Business Partner List (DMUT), with contracts marked up to include additional fees of 13–15%;
- Artificially inflating import prices through collusion and refining RON 90 imported fuel at depots to produce RON 92;
- These actions by the suspects led to increased fuel prices for the public, prompting the government to provide higher subsidies through the state budget (APBN).
The AGO reported that the corruption occurred between 2018 and 2023, with estimated state losses reaching IDR 193.7 trillion.
The session also addressed various public concerns, including:
- Is the reported amount of state loss accurate?
- What does the crude oil and refinery product supply chain look like from upstream to downstream?
- Since the recommendations from the Oil and Gas Governance Reform Team (TRTKM) were issued a decade ago, why persists corruption
- Or has the issue merely shifted from one oil and gas “mafia” group to another?
This event was part of civil society’s efforts to monitor and oversee the case. It also emphasized the importance of understanding oil and gas governance as a crucial step toward ensuring transparent and accountable management, preventing future incidents, and protecting public and state finances.