Indonesia replaces several key Pertamina directors

JAKARTA, March 5 (Reuters) - Indonesia has appointed new directors at state oil and gas firm Pertamina including in the upstream and processing divisions in a bid to improve performance, a minister said on Wednesday.

Pertamina has said it plans to boost its oil production by 16.4 percent next year as the government tries to limit the crippling impact of high oil prices on its budget.

Ari Soemarno will continue as the state firm's chief executive officer.

"There is nothing special in these replacements, they are just a refreshment of the organisation," State Enterprises Minister Sofyan Djalil told reporters.

Rukmi Hadihartini, 55, replaces Suroso Atmomartoyo as director of processing, which deals with buying crude and looking after refineries. Hadihartini previously worked at Pertamina's processing directorate.

Karen Agustiawan, 50, replaces Sukusen Soemarinda as director of upstream, covering oil exploration and production. She previously worked in the president director's office at Pertamina, as well as spells at Mobil Oil and Halliburton.

The government also appointed Waluyo, who goes by one name like many Indonesians, as the new human resources director.

Soemarno has said the firm planned to increase oil output to 170,000 barrels per day next year from an estimated 146,000 barrels per day this year.

"We have to make Pertamina more efficient, especially in processing and marketing, while in upstream we have to boost production," Djalil said.

Rising global oil prices have caused the fuel subsidy bill in Indonesia, Asia Pacific's only member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), to balloon.

Jakarta cut its crippling energy subsidies in October 2005, leading to a sharp increase in fuel prices, although these are still among the lowest in the world.

Indonesia's ageing wells and lack of investment in the energy sector have pushed the country to become a net crude oil importer, although it is still a net energy exporter, thanks to a huge supply of natural gas and coal.

The finance ministry recently said Pertmina had 152 trillion rupiah ($16.71 billion) in assets based on 2003 data.

(Reporting by Muklis Ali, Editing by Ed Davies)