RI oil, gas tender for 9 blocks attracts 8 bids

RI oil, gas tender for 9 blocks attracts 8 bids

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Indonesia's Directorate General of Oil and Gas has received eight bids for six exploration and production blocks offered in a tender, a MIGAS official said on Friday.

The tender offered nine offshore blocks in Makassar Strait, North East Java Sea and West Natuna Sea, but three blocks failed to attract any bids, the official said.

The tender drew bids from eight foreign companies, including a new player identified as Exol, according to the directorate official.

Exol has submitted its bid for four out of six blocks in the Makassar Strait - Papalang, Popodi, Donggala and Tanjung Aru, the official said.

The Donggala block is also sought after by Total Fina Elf S.A. and Unocal Corp., while Amerada Hess Corp. seeks the Tanjung Aru block, the MIGAS official said.

Taritip and Jangeru blocks in Makassar Straits and the Bawean II block in the Northeast Java Sea failed to attract any bids, he added.

Gulf Indonesia Resources Ltd., which is 72 percent owned by soon-to-be-acquired Gulf Canada Resources Ltd., is vying with Conoco Indonesia Inc. Ltd. for the Nila block in the Natuna Sea.

Conoco Inc. announced May 29 its plan to acquire Gulf Canada Resources.

While Conoco has maintained that the Indonesian units are likely to stay separate upon a successful acquisition, their bids for the Nila block suggest the two companies' business directions in Indonesia will likely converge, a source said.

Conoco's acquisition of Gulf is expected to be completed between mid-July to mid-August, sources said.

BP PLC and Santos Ltd. are both vying for the Bawean I block in the North East Java Sea, the MIGAS official said.

Both companies have operations currently located near the Bawean I block, with BP's production sharing contract area in Muriah located just next to the new block it is bidding for.

The tender for the oil and gas exploration and production blocks is expected to be awarded in November, MIGAS said.

The directorate intends to offer 14 blocks of new acreage in a new exploration and production tender to be issued shortly.

The response to the tender for nine blocks that closed Friday is deemed weak, sources said.

The officials said 20 parties had previously indicated interest, but only eight bids were finally submitted.