Chevron, Santos apply for CBM blocks

At least six companies, including US-based oil and gas company Chevron Corp. and Australia's oil and gas firm Santos Limited, have submitted bidding proposal for operating coal-bed methane (CBM) gas area in South Sumatra and East Kalimantan, Investor Daily reported Monday.

"The tender is expected to be opened in March 2007. Six companies have applied for the tender. Two of them are Santos and Chevron," said R. Priyono, director for the upstream business development of the Directorate General of Oil and Gas at the Ministry for Energy and Mineral Resources in Jakarta over the weekend.

According to him, the six companies have conducted a joint study as part of the requirements for the tender to be held through direct offer mechanism.

Priyono said that the size of the working area has yet to be decided because mapping of the CBM area has first to be conducted to know which area is concession area and which area is owned by the Forest Ministry.

The upcoming tender for operating CBM gas is still open for companies eager to participate in applying for the tender.

Numerous companies, he said, had expressed their interest in applying for the tender but many of them were still waiting for the policy on split.

Besides through direct offer mechanism, the government will also offer the operation area of the CBM through a regular tender. "This will be conducted if the mapping of the working area has been completed and the issue of the split has already been settled," he said. (*)