Govt to decide on Mahakam soon
Monday, January 19 2015 - 07:39 AM WIB
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Sudirman Said will announce decision on the contract on the Mahkam block in East Kalimantan in early February.
Sudirman said he is now in the process of hammering out ?several points of agreements? to be included in the letter of decision.
?Now, we are in the final phase (of decision making). There is a discussion every week in order to make all parties understand. We want to give a chance (to the regional government to participate in the block). But, we don?t want it to be a mere front for people who want to control the block,? Sudirman said on Monday.
He said that last week officials from the East Kalimantan regional adminstration paid a courtesy call on him, during which they expressed interest to participate in the block.
The contract on the block held by French firm Total SA and Japanese firm Inpex Corp expires on Dec. 31, 2017. Both firms have asked for an extension of the contract but state owned oil and gas firm PT Petamina insists on taking over the block. The ministry has asked Petamina to submit a proposal on its plan to develop the block after the expiry of the contract.
Editing by Johannes Simbolon