Pertamina, Exxon reach agreement over JTB share valuation

tate-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina and ExxonMobil have finally reached agreement over the valuation of the latter?s participating interest (PI) in the Jambaran Tiung Biru (JTB) gas field development project to be acquired by the former, Kontan reported on Tuesday.

Adriansyah, President Director of PT Pertamina EP Cepu, which operates the field, however, claimed he does not know the exact figure yet. ?I don?t know the exact figure yet,? he told the paper.

Vice President for Public and Government Affairs at ExxonMobil Indonesia, Erwin Maryoto also declined to disclose the valuation of the PI. But he acknowledged that after reaching agreement over the PI valuation, the acquisition can be immediately realized.

Upstream Director of state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina Syamsu Alam said last month that ExxonMobil was asking for US$121 million for its 45 percent interest in the JTB project. Pertamina was seeking for a lower price.

Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arcandra Tahar said in early August that ExxonMobil Cepu Limited was pulling out from the JTB project in Central Java due to disagreement over the selling price of gas from the project.

Pertamina on August 8 signed a heads of agreement (HOA) with state-owned oil and gas firm PT PLN to supply gas from the JTB project at a price of US$7.6 per mmbtu. The HOA is expected to be followed up with the binding gas sales and purchase agreement (GSA), which will pave the way for Pertamina to start construction of the JTB project, targeted to start gas production in 2020.

The GSA will be signed once the acquisition of the ExxonMobil interest in the JTB project has been concluded. (*)