By Romel Gurky
Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is proposing to take over idle geothermal prospects located within existing Working Areas (WKP) from current IPB (Geothermal Business Permit) holders, as part of efforts to optimize geothermal potential.
Budi Herdiyanto, Coordinator of Geothermal Exploration and Exploitation Supervision at the Directorate General of New, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE), said on Monday that under the current regulations, the relinquishment process can only be initiated by the IPB holders themselves.
“With this new proposal, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources would have the authority to revoke idle prospects and reclassify them as either WPSPE (Preliminary Survey Assignment Area) or new WKPs. These areas could then be offered to other developers who are ready to move forward with development,” he explained.
Read also: Govt to offer 10 WPSPEs for geothermal exploration
Budi noted that the proposal is included in the revision of Government Regulation No. 7/2017, which is targeted for completion by the end of this year.
A government source within the ministry told Petromindo.com on Tuesday that several potential prospects are already being considered for relinquishment from existing WKPs.
“In addition to Sarulla, there are also Margabayur, Semurup, Lempur, and Telaga Bodas. However, everything is still under discussion,” the source said.
Some geothermal working areas cover more than 100,000 hectares and/or include multiple prospect areas. Under the current framework, the Minister is unable to offer unexploited or undeveloped prospects to other business entities.
By Reiner Simanjuntak
