Pertamina, Natuna partners to extend PoA
Monday, October 22 2012 - 03:55 AM WIB
PT Pertamina East Natuna (Persero), the subsidiary of state owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina that operates East Natuna block, is in talks with partners to extend the principle of agreement (PoA) which will expire in November.
President Director Dennie Tampubolon told Petromindo.com that the new PoA will also incorporate the inclusion of PTT Thailand as a new partner.
?The PoA expires next November. Intensive negotiations have been underway, led by (Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources) pak Rudi (Rubiandini). The new partner will be PTT, not (Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company) KUFPEC,? Dennie said.
The interest of KUFPEC in Natuna was previously revealed during a recent meeting between Indonesian Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa and Kuwait Energy Minister discussing various cooperation opportunities.
That leaves ExxonMobil and Total SA as the remaining partners in Natuna.
The East Natuna block is one of the largest untapped gas reserves in Asia with gas reserves estimated at 46 tcf. An industrial source told petromindo.com that the cost to develop the block could reach US$24 billion. Once in production stage, the block could produce 1,200 mmscfd for 30 years.
Editing by Dadan Wijaksana