CNOOC farms out South East Sumatra block

By Febry Silaban

Chinese firm China National Oil Offshore Company (CNOOC) SES Ltd is in the process of farming out interest in the South East Sumatra (SES) PSC offshore South Sumatra, according to an official at upstream authority SKK Migas. The current contract for the SES block is scheduled to expire in September 2018.

According to Taslim Z. Yunus, SKK Migas' Head of Program and Reporting, who is also acting spokesman of the agency, CNOOC is not sure that they will be allowed to continue being operator of the block if it is taken over by state owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina (Persero) after its expiry in 2018.

"The firm (CNOOC) referred to their experience in the West Madura Offshore (WMO) block," Taslim said to Petromindo.com.

CNOOC pulled out of WMO block in 2011 after the contract was extended and operatorship was transferred to Pertamina.

"If it can make more money from the farm-out than staying in the block until 2018, why not? Therefore, according to CNOOC, it's better to take profit ahead,? he said.

The SES block is located in the shallow water (17-55 m) of the Java Sea in southeast of Sumatra, about 90 km northwest of Jakarta. CNOOC SES Ltd as operator has 65.54 percent interest in the block, while the remaining interest is owned by Pertamina Hulu Energi OSES (20.55 percent), Saka Energi Sumatra (8.91 percent), and KUFPEC Indonesia (SES) B.V. (5 percent).

Editing by Johannes Simbolon