Pertamina, Sonatrach sign agreement on oil, gas cooperation

Indonesia?s state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina signed on Wednesday a MoU with Algerian government-owned company Sonatrach to increase cooperation in the oil and gas sector.

Pertamina said in a statement that under the new MoU, which is a follow up of a 2012 agreement, the two companies will conduct joint analysis and evaluation of exploration production opportunities in Indonesia, Algeria, or other countries.

The statement further said that through the agreement, the two companies will have opportunities to participate in upstream, downstream and oil and gas services projects in both countries.

Other opportunities include exchange of information on gas and its downstream industry, as well as cooperation in the areas of LNG, crude business, condensate, petrochemical, LPG and oil and gas marketing optimization. The two companies may also conduct joint research and development activities, and increase human resources capacity.

Pertamina through its subsidiary PT Pertamina Internasional Ekplorasi dan Produksi (PIEP) owns a number of oil and gas assets overseas including in Algeria, Iraq, and Malaysia. As per August of 2016, PIEP?s production totaled 120,590 boepd, exceeding the 104,950 boepd target.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak