12 oil contracts awarded to local and foreign firms
12 oil contracts awarded to local and foreign firms
JAKARTA (JP): State-owned oil and gas company Pertamina signed
yesterday eight production-sharing contracts and four technical
assistance contracts for oil and gas exploration and production
with local and foreign companies.
The company's junior director of exploration and production
F.X. Sujanto said at the signing ceremony that the contractors
were committed to spending US$634.3 million on exploration in the
first ten years of their contracts.
"The government will continue to provide incentives to
encourage oil and gas exploration, particularly in eastern
Indonesia," said Minister of Mines and Energy I.B. Sudjana at the
ceremony.
Sudjana said there were still many sites in the eastern region
that could be exploited. "Several blocks off Timor, for example,
are now ready to be tendered to local and foreign companies," he
said.
The 30-year production-sharing contracts were awarded to two
Japanese companies -- Japan Petroleum Exploration Co and
Indonesia Petroleum Exploration --, GFB Resources Indonesia of
Canada, U.S. Apache Co, Australia's City View Co, New Zealand's
Cue Energy Resources and France's Total, which got two contracts.
GFB Resources Indonesia, a wholly-owned unit of Canada's
Carmanah Resources Ltd, will invest $96 million exploring an
offshore block off the Northeast Natuna islands in the South
China Sea.
Indonesia Petroleum will spend $96 million to explore Rabe
block off East Kalimantan, while the other Japanese firm -- Japan
Petroleum -- will invest $157 million in Sabo block, off south
Timor.
Apache will invest $19.7 million to explore an onshore block
at Korinci-Baru in Riau.
City View, through its subsidiary Western Madura Ltd, will
explore in Madura, East Java, with an investment of $63 million.
Cue Energy Resources, which set up a joint venture with PT
Wirabuana Petrolindo Ltd of Indonesia, will spend $129.6 million
exploring offshore at Tanjung Jabung in southern Sumatra.
Total will spend about $50 million exploring Sebawang block
II, offshore East Kalimantan, and in the nearby block of Saliki.
The 20-year technical assistance contracts were awarded to PT
Putra Batumandi Petroleum; Western Akar Petroleum Ltd; a joint
venture between PT Insani Bina Perkasa and PT Mitrasani Lestari
Nusa; and a joint venture between PT Indama Putera Langsa and GFB
Resources Ltd.
They will explore respectively an onshore Batumandi block,
North Sumatra; Tuba Obi Timur block in Jambi, Sungai Gelam block
in Jambi and in Langsa an offshore block in East Aceh, northern
Sumatra. (bnt)
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