he government has decided to offer a six-month extension to the current contractors of Tuban and Ogan Komering blocks, which were originally slated to see their contracts expire on Wednesday, as it is still waiting for state-owned energy giant Pertamina to submit new proposals to fully take over the two blocks.
The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry previously mandated Pertamina to fully take over the operatorship of the Tuban and Ogan Komering blocks, along with six other blocks that will also see their contracts expire this year.
At present, Pertamina subsidiary Pertamina Hulu Energi jointly operates the Tuban block in East Java and the Ogan Komering block in South Sumatra with China’s PetroChina and Singapore’s Jadestone Energy, respectively.
Susyanto, the ministry’s secretary at the Directorate General of Oil and Gas, said Pertamina planned to submit a new proposal to take over the two blocks, in which the company would include a partnership scheme in its operations.
“They want to team up with partners. But it [the new proposal] has yet to be completed,” Susyanto said Wednesday.
“But because the contracts for the Tuban and Ogan Komering blocks will expire today, the current contractors will get a temporary operatorship extension [...] for six months, or until we get a new definitive contractor.”
Hence, he said if Pertamina could submit its new proposal within two months, for instance, the company would be able to take over the two blocks right away without having to wait six months. (bbn)
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