Pertamina wants to acquire Palmerah oil block

Pertamina wants to acquire Palmerah oil block

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

State-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina is one of eight
companies who have expressed their interest in acquiring the
Palmerah oil and gas concession in South Sumatra, a senior
official said on Wednesday.

"Pertamina has also expressed interest in the Palmerah block.
But the government will not give Pertamina preferential
treatment," Iin Arifin Takhyan, the director general of oil and
gas at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, told
reporters.

Pertamina, which was converted into a limited liability
company in September, has long been pampered by the government
with oil and gas acreages and other facilities.

Pertamina's financial director Alfred Rohimone had said that
the company would focus 70 percent of its business on oil and gas
exploration and development.

Iin said that aside from Pertamina, there were also other
companies who had expressed their interest in the Palmerah block.

However, Iin did not name the other companies. He
only said the companies consisted of both local and foreign
firms.

The Palmerah block is one of the eight oil and gas acreages
offered by the government to investors. The other acreages are
offshore Anambas (Riau), onshore Palmerah (South Sumatra),
offshore Biliton (Bangka Belitung), onshore Bangkanai (East
Kalimantan), offshore Bontang (East Kalimantan), offshore
Halmahera (Maluku), offshore West Salawati (Papua) and onshore
Asmat (Papua).

Iin said the Palmerah block had attracted the strongest
interest from investors.

Among the foreign companies which have submitted proposals to
acquire the blocks are ConocoPhilips and Malaysian Genting Oil.

"The selection of the winning bids will be based on the work
commitment program, bonuses and geological data," Iin said,
adding that the winners would be announced on Nov. 7.

With the current acreage offering, the government will have
awarded a total of 17 oil and gas acreages this year compared to
last year when only one oil and gas concession was awarded.

Earlier this year, the government awarded 9 oil and gas
concessions worth US$170 million.

This will help lift the country's oil and gas output, which
has been in the doldrums for sometime due to declining
investment.

Indonesia currently produces 1.1 million barrels of oil per
day (bpd), lower than its quota of 1.317 million bpd set by the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).