Siak block contract to be extended 6 months
Monday, May 26 2014 - 07:05 AM WIB
The government will still extend PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia?s (CPI) contract the Siak block in Riau for another six months as the future owners of the block are still unable to agree on share ownership, said an industrial source.
Previously, the government decided to hand over the block to state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina after the contract of CPI on the block expired on Nov. 27, 2013. CPI was allowed to temporarily operate the block for six months, until the transfer process to Pertamina has been completed.
?The contract on the Siak block will still be extended for another six months, as the discussion on the participating interest between Pertamina and the local administration-owned company has yet to be completed,? said the source to Petromindo.com on Monday.
The source explained that now CPI is serving as the processor of the block, while Pertamina is acting as an operator. ?It means the financing and responsibility of the block remains in the hands of Pertamina,? he insisted.
Meanwhile, Director of Oil and Gas at Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) Edy Hermantoro and Upstream Director at MEMR Hendra Fadly confirmed to Petromindo.com that until now the status of the Siak block is still being discussed at the ministry.
CPI has been managing the Siak block in Sumatra since 1963, when the company?s name at the time was PT California Texas Indonesia. The contract was renewed in 1991 for another 22 years.
Editing by Johannes Simbolon