RI to offer 11 oil, gas blocks for bidding

RI to offer 11 oil, gas blocks for bidding

Dow Jones, Jakarta

The government will offer 11 oil and gas blocks for open
bidding Saturday by private oil and gas companies, a government
official said Monday.

Iin Arifin Takhyan, oil and gas director general of the Energy
and Mineral Resources Ministry, said he will launch the bidding
process in Bali during a gathering of oil and gas companies on
the resort island this weekend.

He said the 11 blocks comprise the offshore Tarakan block in
South Kalimantan, the offshore South Madura block in East Java,
the offshore Bulu block in northeast Java, the offshore Rembang
block north of Central Java, the offshore Madura I and II blocks
in East Java, the offshore North Bali I and II blocks, the
onshore Merangin I and II blocks in South Sumatra, and the
offshore East Kangean block in East Java.

The government will sign production sharing contracts with the
selected companies.

Indonesia introduced a new oil and gas law in November 2001 to
attract more foreign investment in the country's oil and gas
sector.

Under the law, the government lifted the decades-long monopoly
enjoyed by state-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina.

Indonesia is the only Southeast Asian member of the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC.

The government has forecast this year's average monthly crude
oil production at 1.27 million barrels a day.