Inpex seeks interest in new Mahakam block contract, surrenders Attaka block
Tuesday, December 26 2017 - 01:04 AM WIB
Japan?s Inpex Corp said it is interested to continue its participation in the development of the Mahakam block under a new production sharing contract (PSC) with Indonesia?s state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina as the new operator.
The contract of Total, the current operator of the Mahakam block, and its partner Inpex, is set to expire at the end of 2017. The government has decided to transfer the block, located offshore East Kalimantan, to Pertamina starting 2018 as the new operator, but allows the state firm to seek partners including Total and Inpex.
?Inpex will continue pursuing discussions, in close partnership with Total, with Pertamina and the Indonesian government authorities with the aim of participating in the block under the new PSC,? the company said in a statement on Monday, but did not provide details.
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Ignasius Jonan has allowed Pertamina to offer up to 39 percent interest in Mahakam block to would-be partners including Total and Inpex to help maintain the block?s production level amid concerns over Pertamina?s capacity. The previous minister Sudirman Said only allowed Pertamina to offer a maximum 30 percent interest. The decision to offer the participating interest in Mahakam block, however, will be made solely by Pertamina based on business to business negotiations with Total and Inpex.
Elsewhere, Inpex said in the statement that it will surrender and return the Attaka block, offshore East Kalimantan, to the Indonesian government as the contract is set to expire at the end of 2017.
?Going forward, the company will undertake the procedures associated with the surrender in cooperation with the Indonesian government authorities as well as Chevron, the operator of the Attaka Unit,? the statement said.
The Attaka Unit is a unitized area consisting of sections of the Inpex Attaka Block and the adjacent East Kalimantan Block to the north.
Chevron, the operator of the Attaka block, has decided not to extend its contract over the block following expiry. The government plans to offer the block to new investors via tender mechanism next year as Pertamina has also turned down the offer to take over the block.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak