Govt insists on higher split from Block A

Government wants a slightly higher revenue split from a natural gas block in restive Aceh province than the 50 percent proposed by U.S. oil firm ConocoPhillips , Reuters reported on Tuesday quoting Minister of Energy Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro as saying.

ConocoPhillips wants a 50-50 percent revenue split to develop Block A PSC because the gas from the onshore field contains carbon dioxide and is costlier to produce, officials have said.

The standard gas-sharing contract is 30 percent for the contractors and 70 percent for the government. ConocoPhillips operates block A with a 50 percent stake, ExxonMobil Corp holding the other 50 percent.

"I have asked the director general of oil and gas and BPMIGAS to follow up the government decision that we want the split above 50 percent, or between 51 to 53 percent," Purnomo told reporters. BPMIGAS is the industry's watchdog.

Purnomo said the government wanted ConocoPhillips to develop the block -- which does not lie near parts of Aceh devastated by a tsunami last December -- as soon as possible to supply gas by 2008 to domestic fertiliser factories.

ConocoPhillips could not be reached for comment.

Indonesia, the world's top exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), has said it was struggling to meet LNG export commitments for 2005 as output had declined and supplies had been diverted to the domestic market.

Last month, state oil firm Pertamina said it had reached agreement with buyers from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan to reschedule 51 cargoes of LNG.

Indonesia will export 335 cargoes of LNG from the Bontang plants in East Kalimantan province and 67 cargoes from the Arun plant in Aceh after the rescheduling.(*)