Riau reiterates demand for 10% PI in Rokan block

By Godang Sitompul

Riau Governor Arsyadjuliandi Rachman visited the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources on Tuesday afternoon to express the province?s interest for a 10 percent participating interest (PI) in the Rokan block when the current contract expires.

?This afternoon, the Riau governor visited the ministry to express interest for 10 percent participating interest in Rokan block,? a source told Petromindo.com.

Separately, Director of Upstream Development at the ministry?s Directorate General of Oil and Gas, Tunggal said that in line with the current regulation, once the Rokan block contract has been terminated, the block, which is located in Riau Province, will be first offered to state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina.

?The Rokan block contract has yet to be terminated. The (Riau) administration was only expressing its interest for the PI,? he said.

The Rokan block, 100 percent owned by PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia (CPI), is home to the large Duri, Minas, and Bekasap fields. Duri is one of the largest steam flood operations in the world. CPI?s current contract over the block is set to expire in 2021. This portal reported last year that CPI had applied for an extension of the contract.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) said last year it was finalizing a new ministerial regulation on the mechanism to allocate 10 percent participating interest in oil and gas assets to regional governments.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak