ONE day back in 2001, Muchsin Bahar, the downstream director of state-owned oil & gas company PT Pertamina (Persero), was deep in thought. Spread out on his desk was the newly passed State Decree on Oil & Gas. This state decree threatened Pertaminas downstream business, he remembered.

Muchsin was quite right to be worried. This Oil & Gas State Decree provided those in the private sector with the opportunity of becoming players in the oil downstrea