Petronas gets oil block

Petronas gets oil block

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Indonesia has awarded the Tanjung Aru block, located offshore Kalimantan in the Makassar Straits, to Malaysia's state oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional Bhd., or Petronas, the company said in a statement released Tuesday.

Petronas said its exploration unit Petronas Carigali Sdn. Bhd. will hold a 50 percent stake in the block. The remaining 50 percent will be held by Amerada Hess Corp., which will act as the block operator.

Petronas said it will drill three exploration wells in the block shortly.

Tanjung Aru block is located in the Kutei Basin - the site of large oil and gas discoveries made over the past few years, Petronas said. The block encompasses 4,160 square kilometers with water depths from 150 meters to 1,700 meters.

Petronas also holds 50 percent stakes in two other oil and gas blocks in Indonesia - the Pasemah block located onshore South Sumatra and the Ketapang Block, located offshore East Java.

Indonesia issued a tender earlier this year for nine offshore exploration and production blocks in the Makassar Strait, the North East Java Sea and the West Natuna Sea.