Govt to re-offer relinquished blocks
Tuesday, February 12 2013 - 04:13 AM WIB
The government will soon offer several blocks that have been relinquished by their operators after they failed to make satisfactory hydrocarbon discovery.
?The government will make offerings to interested parties. It could be through direct tender or joint studies,? Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Susilo Siswoutomo told petromindo.com Tuesday.
Several companies have returned their blocks to the government following unfavorable drilling results. To name a few, ExxonMobil have relinquished Surumana and Mandar blocks, Marathon Energi returned Pasang Kayu, Statoil and PT Pertamina Hulu Energi (PHE) have relinquished the deepwater Karama block in the Makassar Strait.
?Yes, they normally return the blocks to the government if they encountered dry holes. For instance, ExxonMobil in Makassar Strait, they did not discover anything despite the US$300 million worth of investment,? said Susilo.
Director General of Oil and Gas at the Ministry Edi Hermantoro confirmed the plan to petromindo.com, but adding that so far no companies have expressed their interest.
Editing by Dadan Wijaksana