(The Jakarta Post) - The ministry of energy and mineral resources has proposed that the government postpone the implementation of the 2009 law on environment for two year on fears it will severely hit oil and gas production.

"We have spoken with the coordinating minister for the economy to delay the law for at least two years, so that we can prepare our technology," Evita Herawati Legowo, the director general for oil and gas at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, said in Jakarta late Thursday.

Evita said that the mining companies were now working to adjust mining systems to comply with the law, which could take some time.

"Several contractors would prefer to stop their activities rather than breaking the rules which could mean criminal punishments," she said, adding that oil production could drop significantly due to process changes.

Evita said the Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Darwin Zahedy Saleh has sent a letter to the Coordinating Economic Minister to discuss the issue further.

"The decline in oil production might influence state revenue. So, we have to do something," she said.

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