Total says no plan to return back Telen block to government

Petromindo|Khalsa

In a clarification to an earlier report by this portal, Total said on Friday that it has no intention at this time to return back the Telen exploration block, offshore East Kalimantan, to the government.

?Total is still continuing the prospect evaluation in Telen exploration PSC, offshore East Kalimantan, and does not have any intention to return back this exploration block to the Government of Indonesia at this time,? said Kristanto Hartadi, Head of Media Communication and Relation Support Department at Total E&P Indonesie (TEPI) in a statement.

?One prospect, namely Saliki prospect, is now being closely evaluated both on its stakes as well as drill ability,? he added.

Meanwhile, Total said it is also open for any potential and strategic partner to join the exploration efforts in the Telen block. ?Providing all the preparation and requirements are timely fulfilled, it is expected that the well might be drilled by late 2018,? he said.

This portal reported earlier Friday that the company plans to return the Telen block back to the government amid lingering weak oil price environment which makes the project to be less economically feasible.

Telen exploration block is located in the offshore Kutei Basin, initially covering an area of 2,369 square kilometers with water depths in the range of 300 and 1,000 meters and adjacent to prolific oil and gas producing Mahakam block operated by TEPI. Telen block is currently 100 percent owned by Total.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak