Natuna D-Alpha block up for grab

Government will tender Natuna D-Alpha block which has been declared an open acreage to provide an opportunity for any company eager to develop the giant oil and gas block.

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said in Jakarta Thursday that the Natuna D-Alpha block has been declared an open acreage and under the Ministerial Regulation of the Energy and Mineral Resources No. 040/2006, anybody has the right to participate in the tender for the development of the block.

The minister said that any interested company, including state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina, can officially participate in the tender. Under the existing law, Pertamina does no have first right refusal or priority right regarding the development of the block. However, the government will pay attention to Pertamina's interest, he said.

Purnomo, however, has yet to decide when the tender will be opened. "Whether it (D-Alpha Block) will be tendered or not will entirely depend on the President's decision. It may be through direct appointment scheme but we have not decided yet," he said.

Meanwhile, State oil and gas company Pertamina's president director Ari S. Soemarno said that if the government tenders the Natuna D-Alpha block, Pertamina still insist on owning at least 50 percent stakes in the block because Pertamina has invested a lot of money in the block.

Earlier, upstream oil and gas regulatory body BPMIGAS has asked ExxonMobil to submit formal proposal including terms and condition to extend contract of Natuna D-Alpha block.

The government would offer the chance to operate the Natuna D-Alpha block to other companies if Exxon did not submit a new contract proposal until the deadline, chairman of BPMIGAS Kardaya Warnika said in Jan 22. But he did not say specify the deadline.

The Natuna D-Alpha block contains around 222 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas, of which 46 TCF is thought to be commercially recoverable, but the field contains about 70 percent carbon dioxide. (godang)