Exxon, Pertamina offer 10% participating interest in Cepu block

Mobil Cepu Ltd (MCL) and Ampolex (Cepu) Pte.Ltd., both subsidiaries of Exxon Mobil Corporation and PT Pertamina EP Cepu, subsidiary of state oil and gas firm PT Pertamina offered 10 percent participating interest in Cepu block to four regional administration-owned enterprises (BUMD).

The BUMD are PT Sarana Patra Hulu Cepu (owned by Central Java provincial administration), PT Asri Dharma Sejahtera (Bojonegoro regency), PT Blora Patragas Hulu (Blora regency) and PT Petro Gas Jatim Utama Cendana (East Java province), ExxonMobil said in a news release on Thursday.

President and General Manager of Mobil Cepu Michael K Nelson said that Mobil Cepu Ltd and PT Pertamina EP felt very happy at the great progress of the offering and believe that "the project could utilize our competence benefiting all parties by participation of the four BUMD".

In the meantime, Director of Pertamina EP Cepu Hestu Bagiyo said that the participation of BUMD would be "very meaningful" to the project's relation with local communities and to the "effective and efficient progress of the project".

ExxonMobil and Pertamina respectively control a 50 percent stake in Block Cepu. Each company would provide 5 percent shares to enable the BUMDs to have a combined 10 percent share in the project.

The Cepu block, located in the border areas of Central Java and East Java. In March 2001, ExxonMobil and Pertamina announced the discovery of Banyu Urip oil field with an estimated reserve of 250 million barrels. (denny)