Govt approves 31 transfers of interests in 2011
Monday, July 30 2012 - 06:37 AM WIB
The ministry said in a press statement on Monday that in 2009, the government approved 16 transfers of interests, and 18 transfers of interests in 2008.
In offering the working areas, companies that have participating or operating interests can farm-in or farm-out their interests to other companies, which are not their subsidiaries or not included in their consortium, but interested to take them over.
The transfer of the interests is stipulated in article 33 of the government regulation No.35/2004 on upstream oil and gas business activities. It states that production sharing contractors (PSC contractors) can transfer a part or the whole of their interests in one oil and gas block to other companies after getting an approval from the government based on consideration from upstream authority BPMIGAS.
It also stipulates that minister of energy and mineral resources can ask the contractors to offer first to Indonesian companies before offering to other firms.
Also stipulated in the regulation is that the contractors cannot transfer the majority of their interests to other companies that are not in affiliation with them during the first three years of explorations.
The disclosure of data regarding the plan to transfer the interests to other companies must be approved by Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources through the upstream authority BPMIGAS.
Editing by Benget Besalicto Tnb.