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Govt asks local oil and gas firms to take up Tuna Block mantle
Experts say the task’s complexity and sensitivity could be a major impediment.
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An offshore oil and gas rig in the Mahakam Block in East Kalimantan. (Pertamina/Pertamina)
T
he government is continuing to struggle to find investors willing to resume oil and gas development in the North Natuna Sea’s Tuna Block, a remote reserve near waters subject to competing claims of sovereignty amid heightened geopolitical tensions.
It has invited local oil and gas firms to take on the project, but experts say the task’s complexity and sensitivity could be a major impediment.
Development of the Tuna Block slowed down significantly last year after Western sanctions forced British firm Harbour Energy to find a new partner to take over the 50 percent participating interest (PI) previously held by Russia’s Zarubezhneft.
Agus Cahyono Adi, spokesperson for the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that the government was encouraging local oil and gas giants, such as state-owned Pertamina and privately owned Medco Energi Internasional, to take up the mantle with the hope the project would move forward according to schedule.
Pertamina’s upstream arm, Pertamina Hulu Energi, told the Post on Thursday that it was not in a position to submit a proposal to take over the remaining stake in the block, while Medco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Agus of the energy ministry acknowledged that the block was considered high-risk and costly because it was located in a remote offshore area near points of geopolitical tension but said the government trusted it would find a new investor for the project nonetheless.
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