Top job: for Karen Agustiawan
Agustiawan takes Pertamina helm
Indonesia has appointed Karen Agustiawan as the new president director of state-run producer Pertamina, State Enterprises Minister Sofyan Djalil said.
The move to replace Ari Soemarno as president comes after complaints over fuel distribution in the capital and a fire at a major depot, which resulted in a public reprimand of Pertamina by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last month.
There has also been pressure on the government of Yudhoyono, who is seeking a second term in office this year, to boost flagging oil output in Indonesia.
Agustiawan is currently Pertamina's upstream director.
"She is one of the best candidates to become Pertamina president director. She has technical capability," State Enterprises Minister Djalil told Reuters, adding the inauguration would take place later tpday.
Before becoming upstream director, Agustiawan worked in the president director's office at Pertamina, as well as spells at Mobil Oil and Halliburton.
"Uptream activity is Pertamina's main source of profit. We want Pertamina to increase oil production," said the minister.
In March last year, Agustiawan replaced Sukusen Soemarinda as director of upstream, covering oil exploration and production.
Djalil also said Pertamina's vice president director Iin Arifin Takyan would be replaced by Omar Anwar, currently the president director of the Indonesian unit of mining giant Rio Tinto.
The minister said Anwar was being brought in because of his private sector experience in business and finance.
Other directors at Pertamina would remain in place, he said.
An energy ministry official, who declined to be identified, previously told Reuters the plan to replace Pertamina's chief was related to gasoline shortages in pump stations that had " made the government unhappy".
Despite its rich natural resources, Indonesia has turned into a net importer of crude oil in recent years as production has slumped after a failure to tap new fields fast enough.
The country has been offering new exploration rights and financial incentives for oil fields in a bid to stem a steady decline in production.
Indonesia's crude oil production fell to 834,000 barrels per day in January, down from 842,000 bpd in December last year.
Pertamina has said it plans to invest 19 trillion rupiah ($1.63 billion) in 2009, against 17 trillion rupiah in 2008. It also plans to produce 169,750 bpd of oil this year, up from 156,000 bpd last year.