PetroChina to become Pertamina's partner in Natuna: Source

Chinese firm PetroChina is tipped to have the biggest chance to become state owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina's partner to develop the huge gas deposit of the Natuna D Alpha block in South China Sea.

A source at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources told Petromindo.com on Tuesday that Pertamina had got direction from "above" to choose the Chinese firm as partner, a move that will further strengthen the economic ties between Indonesia and China.

"The decision will be made in the coming weeks," the source said.

Pertamina and PetroChina, however, denied the speculation.

"It's a rumor. The selection of partners is being conducted by Wood Mackenzie," Pertamina's Upstream Director Karen Agustiawan told Petromindo.

PetroChina's Administration Vice President Budi Setiadi said: "We are not aware of such information."

Karen earlier announced that Pertamina had appointed Edinburg, Scotland-based Wood Mackenzie to select potential partners in developing the block. She said there were 10 firms that had expressed interest to become Pertamina's partner, including France?s Total, Royal Dutch Shell, StatOil, Malaysia?s Petronas, Thailand?s PTT, PetroVietnam and Italy?s ENI.

The government has handed over the block to Pertamina after the contract owned by American oil and gas giant ExxonMobil Corp. expired. The block is believed to hold 47 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas, 70 percent of which however contains CO2.

Pertamina's President Director Ari H. Soemarno earlier said Pertamina needed a partner who has strong financial resources and is highly capable in terms of technology. (Godang)