Institut Teknologi Bandung

The seminar was given in two sessions. The first session took the theme on how to start a business in oil and gas industries, presented by Hadi Ismoyo, and moderated by Muhammad Ramadhan, President of HMTM PATRA ITB. Hadi Ismoyo explained how to build a business in petroleum and gas sector. Hadi, who previously worked for a foreign oil and gas company, shared his motivation. "My career was stuck during my time in that foreign company. All of the strategic positions were held by expatriates. It wasn't just about the money, the financial freedom; I also want the intellectual freedom," he said. Further, he explained the technicalities in establishing a company, from the funding, to the negotiations with local government, to the operation of the company.

Widjajono presented the second session. Although he has no experience in the oil and gas sector, mas Wid, Widjajono's nickname, has a lot of friends in the industry. In his presentation, titled "Self Awareness, he advised to start a business in petroleum and gas with the smallest risks. "First we have to graduate from school, of course. Then we can take part with the professors or a research organization. To learn about the how-to in establishing a company, we can join a company. And we can start with service company, and if we succeeded, we can further grow into an oil field company."

Indonesia Can Maximalize Its Potential of Oil and Gas

Kurtubi viewed that Indonesia's oil and gas potential-which could reach 50 trillion barrels-was not adequately supported by a number of essential things. "The challenge is to increase the number of explorations. And our exploration is halted because of the inaccessibility and the lack of geological data. Also, the laws regulating the industry-the tax and the bureaucracy-is seen as a burden from the investors' point of view," said Kurtubi, referring to a research from Fraser Institute in 2001.

Ari Bukhari explained Pertamina's roles in maximizing the oil and gas potential. One of them is intensification of established wells through EOR (Enhanced Oil Recovery), as well as geological and geophysical studies. Facing those challenges, Rudi Rubiandini explained a number of solutions, among them are perfecting the laws to create a healthy climate for investors, cutting up the red tape, and to stop the gas subsidy.

"The seminar was a part of PATRA's program to educate the public outside the petroleum engineering," explained Dhita Saraswaty (Petroleum Engineering 2008) Project officer of PETROGLANZ. Dhita further explained that the seminar was a part of an ongoing program which lasted until the end of November that include radio talkshow, national seminar, short class on oil and gas, and debate competition.