Medco has no interest to join Riau province

Medco Corporation has no interest to join the Riau provincial administration in operating the Coastal Plain Petroleum (CPP), the company's corporate secretary Sugiharto said as reported by Astaga.com on Thursday.

Sugiharto said that if the government allowed the Riau province to take over the management of the oil block, the existing operator should be given a priority to handle the operation to ensure that the investment climate in the country's oil and gas sectors remained attractive to foreign investors,

"Reports that Medco is interested in operating the CPP oil block with the Riau province is certainly wrong," he clarified media reports, which said that the local oil company was interested in managing the oil block and had secured financial backing from a major financial institution to do the job.

According to Sugiharto, Medco has never made any approach or expressed its willingness to the Riau government about its intention to join the production activities at the CPP oil block.

The provincial administration of Riau has been given a green light to take over the operation of CPP when the contract, now held by PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia, expired in August next year. Riau governor Saleh Djasit said recently that the province would select its own partners, rather than Pertamina or Caltex to carry out the job. Involving companies owned the provincial administration (BUM Ds) is a high priority, he added. (*)