South African firm-led consortium says to get CPP block lease
Wednesday, March 6 2002 - 09:27 AM WIB
CPP block contract, which is currently operated by ChevronTexaco?s Caltex pacific Indonesia, will due this August and a consortium of state oil and gas firm Pertamina and Siak Bumi Pusako, a company owned by Riau provincial administration will take over the block?s operations from then.
A number of oil companies had since approached Siak Bumi Pusako, offering cooperation to co-manage CPP block.
The report citing Amlac managing director Fazel Bhana as saying the deal was "well over R100 million", but the final figure would only be given on conclusion of the deal in two weeks' time.
According to Bhana, the deal would allow Amlac to have crude oil sold on the global market from August 1, as the oil wells were already built, pending the result of a due diligence study.
Amlac chairman Solly Bhana said being an oil producer was always what he envisioned Amlac to be since he took over the company just more than a year ago.
"This deal is indeed a coup for Amlac," said Rod MacLeod of the Janus Corporation, the corporate financial advisers on the deal.
MacLeod said once the operating contract began, "significant foreign exchange earnings" could be expected from trading in crude oil.
If the deal were finalised, it would "hugely" affect Amlac's earnings, said Fazel Bhana.
The report said the deal for the lease was put together by Amlac, working with Zonkizizwe Investments, the Yatic Corporation of Saudi Arabia and BAE Systems.
Meanwhile, Azali Djohan, an executive from Siak Bumi Pusako contacted by petromindo.Com acknowledged that it had held talk with Amlac-led consortium. However, he said that ?the talk is still too early to be concluded?.
An executive from Pertamina who?s in charge of taking over CPP block denied any knowledge about the deal. (alex/godang)