Indonesia Extends Pertamina CEO Tenure

JAKARTA - Indonesia's government has extended the tenure of Karen Agustiawan, the president director of state energy company Pertamina, to ensure the continuity of business plans currently being implemented, a minister said Tuesday.

"We extended Karen's period temporarily," State Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting. The government may retain her for a full-five year term, he said.

Mr. Iskan said the decision to extend was made last Thursday at a shareholders' meeting.

Ms. Agustiawan's term began in February 2009 and had been scheduled to end on March 5. Tenure at the company's top spot typically lasts five years, but governments in the past have occasionally changed the CEO early.

Achievements during her tenure include a foray into alternative energy such as geothermal and coal-bed methane, and pursuit of assets outside Indonesia.

In a vote of confidence for Pertamina's development under Ms. Agustiawan, investors flocked to the U.S. dollar-denominated bonds the company issued in 2011 and 2012, from which it raised US$3.9 billion.

Pertamina's net profit in 2012 rose 26% to 25.89 trillion rupiah (US$2.7 billion), Ms. Agustiawan said last week.

Output rose to 461,640 barrels of oil equivalent last year from 457,640 barrels.