ExxonMobil can receive no more than 15 percent of Cepu oil output: Purnomo

U.S. oil firm ExxonMobil Corporation will receive no more than 15 percent of total oil output from the Cepu block in Central/East Java under a new agreement to be signed with state oil and gas firm PT Pertamina, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said Thursday as reported by Kompas daily.

"Like any other production sharing contractor, ExxonMobil's portion cannot exceed 15 percent. Any contractor signing a cooperation agreement with Pertamina will receive not more than what the government has decided," the minister said.

The government is entitled to 85 percent of the total oil output turned out by contractors, Purnomo added.

The minister said further that the government was awaiting response from Pertamina's board of commissioners on its stance.

ExxonMobil has been seeking for an extension of the existing contract in managing the Cepu block, which will expire in 2010. ExxonMobil and Pertamina have recently reached an initial deal for the extension of the contract, but has yet to be approved by the government.

Pertamina's upstream director Bambang Nugroho said earlier that under the preliminary deal, the government would receive 60 percent of Cepu oil production and that the remaining 40 percent would go to Pertamina, which would then split it with ExxonMobil.

Bambang refused to say how much ExxonMobil would receive. "We have completed points in the head of agreement (HoA), which is awaiting approval from the (Pertamina) board of commissioners and the shareholders," Bambang said.(*)