BP offers Muriah block for sale

Publicly listed oil company PT Medco Energi International confirmed Thursday that Anglo-American energy giant BP Plc had offered Muriah production sharing contract offshore Central Java for sale.

"In our talks with BP about the Kangean block, the company also offered us the Muriah block," Medco president Hilmi Panigoro told reporters.

Hilmi said his company only focused on the Kangean block and was hopeful that their talks with BP about that block would be concluded by mid-April.

The Muriah block, which was discovered in 1980, contains estimated recoverable gas reserves of 500 billion standard cubic feet (BSCF).

Last July, BP and state-owned electricity firm PLN signed an agreement on gas supply with a capacity of 140 MMSCFD from Kepodang gas field of the Muriah block to the latter?s 1,058 megawatt power plant, the Tambak Lorok, in Semarang starting in 2006 for a 12-year period.

BP operates the block with a 100 percent working interest.(godang)