Pertamina to acquire interests in two blocks in Russia

By Febry Silaban

State owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina (Persero) plans to acquire interests in two blocks in Russia, as part of a cooperation framework agreement which has just been signed with Rosneft.

Pertamina?s President Director Dwi Soetjipto said in Jakarta Thursday that his firm targets to get additional production of 35,000 barrels of oil a day and a reserve of 200 million barrels from acquiring interests in the two Russian blocks.

"Both companies agreed that Pertamina could farm in two oil and gas blocks in Russia with a stake in each block of about 10-15 percent. The number of blocks may be added in order to achieve the target of 35,000 bopd,? Dwi said.

Meanwhile, Rosneft's Vice President for Refining Petrochemicals, Commerce and Logistics, Didier Casimiro said that they could not yet publish the name of the blocks to be acquired by Pertamina. However, they still provide the opportunity for Pertamina to acquire shares in production block share.

"We remain open if Pertamina wants to get into the development block," Didier said.

Pertamina and Rosneft on Thursday signed a landmark agreement to cooperate in oil and gas business, not only in Indonesia but also in Russia. The first project where both firms will cooperate is the multi-billion dollar Tuban grass-root refinery project (GRR Tuban) in East Java province.

Editing by Reiner Simajuntak