Medco to set up joint venture to resume operation in Libya

PT Medco Energi Internasional said that it would set up a joint venture next month to continue developing its oil and gas project in Libya.

Medco President Director Lukman Mahfoedz stated as quoted by The Jakarta Globe that his company?s subsidiary Medco International Venture Limited, would have a 25 percent interest in the new joint venture, while the Libyan government would have 50 percent, and other partners would have the other 25 percent.

?We?ll resume the development of our project in Libya. The joint venture will do the job there,? he said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The Libyan government had awarded an oil and gas concession in the Area 47 Block, which was estimated to be able to produce up to 50,000 barrels of oil per day. But due to a political upheaval that had toppled Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi, the project had been suspended until recently.

Lukman said that the project would probably cost at about $800 million.

?So far, we?ve allocated $200 million to develop it. The fund is derived from our internal cash and bonds,? he added.

Medco Group also had an oil and gas project in Yemen - Block 9 - where its subsidiary Medco Yemen Malik Ltd had recently acquired a 21.25 percent stake with a total value of $95 million. (*)