Riau Petroleum to be Pertamina?s partner in developing Siak block

Upstream authority SKK Migas has issued a decree assigning PT Riau Petroleum, a company owned by the Riau provincial administration, to co-develop the Siak block in Riau together with state owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina.

The information was given by Wan Amir Firdaus, a senior official at the provincial administration, riauterkini.com said on Tuesday.

According to the official, SKK Migas sent the letter on Oct. 27.

To follow up the letter, the province will start negotiating with Pertamina with the goal of getting a 50 percent interest in the block.

The contract on the block previously owned by Chevron Pacific Indonesia expired on Nov. 27, 2013. The government however allowed the firm to continue developing the block until it decided on the new developer.

On May 26, 2014, then Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Jero Wacik signed a new PSC on the block with Pertamina, allowing the firm to operate the block for 20 years. The block is wholly owned by the state firm. (*)