Pertamina signs deals for Libyan blocks<\/p>\n
Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
State oil and gas firm PT Pertamina has signed contracts with
\nLibya to explore and develop two oil and gas blocks, committing
\nUS$49.1 million in the first five years of the exploration
\nperiod.<\/p>\n
Pertamina's vice president Mustiko Saleh and National Oil
\nCorporation (NOC)'s chairman Abdullah Al Badri, representing the
\nLibyan government, signed the exploration and production sharing
\nagreements in Tripoli on Dec. 8, Pertamina said in an e-mailed
\nstatement on Monday.<\/p>\n
Pertamina will spend $49.1 million to conduct seismic tests
\nand drill two wildcat wells in Sirte block in the Sahara desert
\nand another two wells in Sabrata block in the Mediterranean Sea
\nduring a five-year exploration period, company spokesman Mochamad
\nHarun said.<\/p>\n
Pertamina was one among 19 companies that were awarded tenders
\nin October to explore blocks in Libya, where Africa's largest
\ncrude oil reserves lie. The company agrees to receive 8.8 percent
\nof output in Sirte and 11.7 percent in Sabrata, lower than at
\nleast 15 percent usually applied in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Libyan evaluation teams have identified eight prospective
\nareas in Sirte with reserves of about 3.5 trillion cubic feet
\n(tcf) of gas and 75 million barrels of oil, Harun said. Sabrata,
\nlocated next to Sarir, one of Libya's largest oil fields, is
\nexpected to hold 400 million barrels of recoverable oil.<\/p>\n
Mustiko said on Oct. 11 that Pertamina expected to spend $3.6
\nbillion to develop the blocks over the 30-year contract period
\nunder an agreement with Germany's Commerzbank AG. The company
\nwill start exploration in both blocks next year and has targeted
\nonstream production to commence in 2009.<\/p>\n
The surge in crude prices has prompted oil companies to boost
\nexploration activities to discover more of the fossil fuel. Crude
\nprices in New York touched a record high of $70.85 per barrel on
\nAug. 30 but have eased to around $60 a barrel in recent weeks.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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