Malaysia's TOP scraps exploration deal with Indonesian firm
Thursday, August 10 2000 - 03:00 AM WIB
Tenggara Capital Bhd's (TCAP) subsidiary, TOB Exploration Sdn Bhd (TOBEX), has scrapped plans to explore and develop an oil and gas field in the Karapan Block off Indonesia's Madura Island.
TOBEX was to undertake the project jointly with Wirabuana Pan Resources Karapan Ltd of Indonesia.
Both companies signed the joint operation basic agreement in Jakarta in March this year.
They were to resume a production sharing contract (PSC) with Indonesia's state-owned oil corporation, Pertamina, in the Karapan Block of over 3,800sq km, which lies 50km northeast from Surabaya.
In a filing to the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) Wednesday, Tenggara Capital said the board of directors decided not to commit the company's resources to the project after a feasibility study carried by two independent consultants on the Karapan Block discovered that the estimated recoverable reserves of gas and oil appear not attractive enough for the company.
When announcing the plan in March, Tenggara Capital had said that the Karapan Block has an estimated reserve of 345 million barrels of crude oil and 3.5 trillion billion cubic feet of natural gas.
The company had estimated the development cost of the oil and gas field over three years at US$200 million. (*)