Pertamina asking for Gunting block
Thursday, December 11 2014 - 02:26 AM WIB
PT Pertamina EP Cepu (PEPC), a subsidiary of state owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina (Persero), is asking the government to transfer the Gunting block in Jombang, East Java, to the company.
US giant ExxonMobil returned the block to the government following protests by local communities over the 2D seismic survey carried out by the firm. Exxon won the block in a tender in 2008.
?Our acting director general of oil and gas (Naryanto Wagimin) is a good person and is supportive of national companies. So we are optimistic the Gunting block will be awarded to Pertamina,? President Director of PEPC Amril Thaib Mandailing told Petromindo.com.
The block is among the three Exxon has just returned to the government. The two other blocks are Surumana block in Central Sulawesi and Mandar block in West Sulawesi.
ExxonMobil Indonesia?s Vice President for Public and Government Affairs Erwin Maryoto was quoted in May of this year the local media as saying that the company had decided to return the blocks to the government because they?re considered to be uneconomical and have no contribution to the company.
In August this year, Handoyo Budi Santoso, Public Relations Head at upstream oil and gas authority SKK Migas, said the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources will hold tender for the blocks.
Editing by Johannes Simbolon