Shell farms out Bukat shares

JAKARTA (JP): Oil and gas company Bukat Shell B.V. has agreed to sell 60 percent of its shares in the Bukat oil and gas block off East Kalimantan to the subsidiaries of Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), Lasmo, Unocal, state oil and gas company Pertamina said on Monday.

Pertamina spokesman Ramli Djaafar said the agreement was reached on Sept. 27 but was yet to be approved by the government.

The deal will reduce Shell's stake in Bukat to 40 percent with Arco Bukat Ltd. holding 37.5 percent of the shares, Lasmo Bukat Ltd. holding 12.5 percent and Unocal Bukat Ltd. holding 10 percent, Ramli said.

Ramli said Shell and its new partners would conduct a two- dimensional seismic survey on a 2,000-kilometer area of the Bukat block at the end of the year.

He said Shell also offered the consortium a similar percentage of shares in its Ambalat contract area in East Kalimantan. (03)