Jonan meets ConocoPhillips, other US firms
Wednesday, July 26 2017 - 01:10 AM WIB
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Ignasius Jonan met on Monday with Chairman and CEO of ConocoPhillips, Ryan Lance, and other top officials of the company, discussing among other things the company?s future investment in the Indonesian upstream sector.
The minister was on a three-day visit to the US ending Wednesday, where he was scheduled to meet a number of US firms engaged in oil and gas, and mining sectors.
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said in a statement obtained Wednesday that the meeting with ConocoPhillips discussed among other things the future development of South Jambi B block in Jambi Province, where the current contract of the US firm is set to expire in 2020. Jonan wanted the US firm to quickly decide whether it would seek for an extension of the contract. ?The minister asked ConocoPhillips to quickly submit proposal for the management of the block with an option to partner with Pertamina or other companies,? the statement said.
The statement said that ConocoPhillips will make a response once it has completed internal discussion including in terms of economic feasibility aspect.
ConocoPhillips holds a 45 percent interest in the block, with PetroChina holding 30 percent interest, and Indonesia?s state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina the remaining 25 percent.
The US firms also own two other upstream assets in Indonesia including Corridor block in South Sumatra, and Kuala Kurun block in Central Kalimantan. In Corridor block, ConocoPhillips holds a 54 percent interest, Repsol 36 percent, and Pertamina 10 percent. The US firm holds 100 percent interest of Kuala Kurun block.
Jonan?s visit to the US comes as the government is struggling to woo fresh investment into the country?s upstream sector amid tough challenges caused by the current weak oil price environment. The minister has also come under criticism over new controversial regulations, notably the regulation on the application of gross split mechanism in new oil and gas contracts, which some industry players said would make investment in the upstream sector increasingly less attractive.
Elsewhere, the ministry statement said that Jonan also met on Monday with President & CEO of Baker Hughes, Lorenzo Simonelli, where the US firm offered its upstream technology to help reduce drilling cost and supports enhanced oil recovery program in aging oil fields in Indonesia. GE also offered its barge power plant technology. Meanwhile, Jonan invited GE to participate in the geothermal development in Indonesia.
On Tuesday, Jonan was scheduled to meet with Jeff Shellebager, President of Chevron North America Exploration and Production, and Mary Boroughs, President of Chevron Environmental Management Company at Chevron headquarter. Discussions will be focused development unconventional oil and gas resources by Chevron in the US, application of EOR technology, and realization of the company?s drilling and work program in Indonesia, the statement said.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak