Pertamina to conclude acquisition of upstream assets in Russia this year
Tuesday, April 11 2017 - 01:20 AM WIB
Petromindo|Dasir
State-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina hopes to be able to conclude this year negotiations over its plan to acquire two oil and gas blocks in Russia, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Tuesday.
The paper quoted Senior Vice President of Upstream Business Development at Pertamina, Denie S. Tampubolon as saying that the negotiations with Russia?s Rostneft have now entered the final phase of commercial issue.
?The financial transaction must be made this year, whether to agree or not because it (negotiation) has entered the commercial issue,? he said.
Pertamina and Rostneft signed an agreement last year to team up in the development of a giant oil refinery in Tuban, East Java. As part of the deal, Pertamina would be given opportunity to participate in two upstream projects in Russia.
Rosneft and Pertamina had signed a Memorandum of understanding for cooperation in respect of the Northern Tip of Chayvo Field (Sakhalin Island).
Rosneft said in a statement in October of last year that pursuant to the signed document, the parties intend to agree legally binding documents for the acquisition by Pertamina of up to a 20 percent share stake in the project. Furthermore, the statement said, the parties are considering the possibility of setting up a joint venture for the development of a Rosneft onshore project. The companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in respect of Russkoye field.
The document assumes that Petramina will enter the project with a stake of up to 37.5 percent, and sets forth a procedure for establishing a joint venture by the parties, including the signing of required legally binding agreements in the near term.
Rosneft said the implementation of the project will allow the company to acquire a new international partner for developing a capital intensive project in Russia. Rosneft will carry out operational control of the proposed joint venture.
Elsewhere, Denie said that Pertamina is seeking to acquire between 10-15 percent interest in the two Russian assets, hoping to be able to get 35,000 bpd of oil output. (*)