The Legal 500

Government Regulation No. 27 of 2012 on Environmental Licenses ("Regulation") was issued on 23 February 2012 to implement certain provisions of Law No. 32 of 2009 on Environmental Protection and Management ("Environmental Law"). The Regulation revokes the previous Government Regulation on AMDAL (Government Regulation on Environmental Impact Assessment - "GR 27/1999"), and institutes a procedure for obtaining an Environmental License, which is based on completing the AMDAL and UKL-UPL process and is a prerequisite for securing a Business License.        

Government Regulation No. 24 of 2012 on the Amendment of Government Regulation No. 23 of 2010 on the Implementation of Mineral and Coal Mining Business Activities ("Regulation") has been issued, with immediate effect, on 21 February 2012 in order to revise the implementation of certain aspects of Law No. 4 of 2009 on Mineral and Coal Mining ("Law"). The regulation contains a number of clarifications and elaborations, as the implementation of the Law is fine-tuned, but also marks a dramatic change in the divestment requirement - calling for majority Indonesian ownership after 10 years of production.        

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation No. 7 of 2012 on Increasing The Added Value of Minerals Through Processing and Refining has been passed on 6 February 2012 ("MoEMR Regulation"). The MoEMR Regulation is designed to implement the domestic mineral processing and refining requirements under Law No. 4 of 2009 on Mineral and Coal Mining ("Mining Law") as mandated by Article 96 of Government Regulation No. 23 of 2010 on Implementation of Coal and Mineral Mining Activities ("GR No. 23/2010").    

Presidential Decree No. 3 of 2012 on the Contract of Work and Coal Contract of Work Adjustment Evaluation Team ("Decree") has been issued on 10 January 2012 in order to establish a team that will evaluate the adjustment of Contracts of Work (CoW / Kontrak Karya) and Coal Contacts of Work (CCoW / Perjanjian Karya Pengusahaan Pertambangan Batubara) as required by Article 169(b) of Law No. 4 of 2009 on Mineral and Coal Mining ("Law"). The Evaluation Team will operate from 10 January 2012 until December 2013 (Part 7).        

The Bill on Land Acquisition for Public Interest Development ("Bill") has finally been passed by House of Representatives (DPR) on 16 December 2011, and will receive the number of a law upon Presidential signing, or at the latest within 30 days. The Bill is intended to assure that land can be acquired for the development of public interest projects while prioritizing fair, democratic and humane principles and improving on the previous regulations on land acquisition, which are widely seen as being insufficient. The Bill is a significant revision of the prior regime under Presidential Regulation No. 65 of 2006 on the Amendment of Presidential Regulation No. 35 of 2005 on Land Acquisition for Public Interest ("PR 65/2006").        

6 months after the issuance of Ministry of Forestry Decree No. 323/Menhut-II/2011 on the Determination of Indicative Maps Concerning the Suspension of New Permits for Utilization of Forests, Use of Forest Areas and Change of Forest Area Usage and Other Usage Areas ("Decree"), Ministry of Forestry Decree No. SK.7416/Menhut-VII/IPSDH/2011 on the Determination of Indicative Maps Concerning the Suspension of New Permits for Utilization of Forests, Use of Forest Areas and Change of Forest Area Usage and Other Usage Areas (Revision I) was issued on 22 November 2011 ("Revised Decree"). The issuance of Revised Decree is mandated by Presidential Instruction No. 10 of 2011, which obliged the Minister of Forestry ("Minister") to revise the maps covering the entire territory of Indonesia setting out areas of suspension of new permit issuance ("Indicative Maps") in every 6 months. 

Written by A. Supriyani Kardono

Investors looking to invest in Indonesia’s mining sector may feel a  bit more relieved now as a central database on mining rights in Indonesia has been developed by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (“MEMR”). The Directorate General of Minerals and Coal of the MEMR (“DGMC”) has compiled and reconciled data of all national mining business permits (locally known as Ijin Usaha Pertambangan or “IUP”).

A month after the issuance of Presidential Instruction No. 10 of 2011 on the Suspension of New Concession Permits and the Improvement of Governance for Primary Natural Forests and Peatlands (“Presidential Instruction”), Ministry of Forestry Decree No. 323/Menhut-II/2011 on the Determination of Indicative Maps Concerning the Suspension of New Permits for Utilization of Forest, Use of Forest Area and Change of Forest Area Usage and Other Usage Areas (“Decree”) has been issued.

Suspension of New Concession Permits and Improvement of Governance for Primary Natural Forests and Peatlands

Government Regulation No. 22 of 2011 ("Regulation") has been issued to amend Government Regulation No. 20 of 2010 on Water Transport so as to exempt upstream oil and gas vessels from the cabotage rule of Law No. 17 of 2008 on Shipping ("Shipping Law") that requires all vessels operating between domestic ports to be Indonesian-flagged.

The Government of Indonesia has announced that it will place a two-year moratorium on the conversion of natural forests and peat lands. The moratorium is planned to be implemented in the beginning of 2011. As a result, no new conversion permits will be issued, while permits issued before 2011 will not be affected.

Upstream oil and gas regulator BPMigas has rejected a plan of development (POD) for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project proposed by Energy Equity Epic Sengkang, a subsidiary of Australia-based Energy World Corporation (EWC), on the grounds that the proposal is incomplete.

Describe the domestic natural gas sector, including the natural gas production, liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage, pipeline transportation, distribution, commodity sales and trading segments.

The Minister of Environment has issued Regulation No. 27 Year 2009 concerning Guidelines of Implementation of Strategic Environment which was effective since 3 July 2009. The regulation intends to maintain and conserve the strategic environment through integration of 3 main principles policy, planning and developing.