REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The government is adopting a cautious approach in reaching a decision on the Masela Block refinery development project in Maluku province, Vice President Jusuf Kalla stated.

"Since it is a big project, we need to be careful," he noted after attending an event of the Indonesian Summit here on Thursday.

A discreet approach has been adopted while handling the Masela Block in order to ensure that calculations are precise.

While responding to the controversy on whether the refinery will be built offshore or onshore, Kalla remarked that the decision would be taken immediately.

"We are waiting for a good day (to take a decision over Masela Block)," he affirmed.

Earlier, several prominent figures from Maluku had met Sidarto Danusubroto and Suharso Monoarfa, the two members of the Presidential Advisory Council (Wantimpres), on Tuesday (Feb. 16) to discuss the management of Masela Block as well as to urge the government to build an onshore oil and gas refinery in that area.

After the meeting, Director of Archipelago Solidarity Foundation Dipl-Oek Engelina Pattiasina informed the press that Wantimpres would reveal their thoughts and aspirations to President Joko Widodo.

Engelina insisted that the preference of Maluku people to have an onshore refinery of the Masela Block was important not only to improve the welfare in that province but also to grant recognition to the block as it was part of Maluku's custom territory.

"We have a clear stance that building an onshore refinery will have a positive impact on the local people of Maluku. It would have a greater influence compared to developing an offshore refinery," she added.

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