Pertamina officially becomes Natuna D-Alpha operator

The government had officially appointed state owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina the operator of the Natuna D-Alpha gas block in South China Sea, thus the firm can now start works to develop the block which was formerly controlled by American energy giant ExxonMobil Corp, a minister said.

?In a previous Cabinet meeting, the President clearly appointed Pertamina as the operator of the block. Thus, Pertamina can now work to develop the block,? Minister of State Secretary Hatta Radjasa said on Wednesday as reported by Bisnis Indonesia.

It was not the first statement coming from a minister for Pertamina to start works to develop the block. On Feb. 19, 2008, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the government had officially asked Pertamina to prepare plans for the development of the block.

Pertamina?s President Director Air H. Soemarno, however, still feels unsure about its appointment as the block?s operator until after the firm holds a presentation on the development of the block before President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. That?s why the firm has yet to hold a beauty contest to choose partners to develop the block, according to the newspaper.

Hatta reiterated the President?s position regarding the block had been clear, that is ExxonMobil is no longer the operator of the block.

Pertamina needs only to hold a presentation regarding its plan to develop the block before the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources as the presentation is only about technical matters.

?The President does not deal with technical matters,? he said.

The block is technically still a subject of dispute between the government and ExxonMobil. The government insisted that ExxonMobil?s contract over the block had expired, while the American firm said it still has rights over the block.

The government sent a letter to ExxonMobil in late February this year, telling the firm about its position regarding the block. In response to the letter, ExxonMobil reiterated its ?commitment? to developing the block.

?ExxonMobil remains committed to progressing the development of the Natuna resource and maximizing its value in partnership with Pertamina and the Government of Indonesia,? ExxonMobil Oil Indonesia Inc?s (EMOI) Communication Manager Deva Rachman said.

Natuna D-Alpha, the largest gas field ever found in the country, is said to hold 46 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas.

Several firms have voiced interest to jointly develop the block together with Pertamina, including Malaysian state owned firm Petronas and French firm Total Indonesie. (*)