President director of Pertamina Nicke Widyawati, said the Dubai branch office could serve as a vehicle for PIEP to expand and create opportunities for acquiring new blocks in the Middle East.

“The potential for business development and opportunities for acquiring new blocks is wide open and still very large. We hope that the inauguration of this new branch office is not just about adding physical facilities, but can also provide added value benefits both tangibly and intangibly.”

Nicke added that with the opening of the office, it would be easier to obtain information related to international assets and optimize operational costs between Jakarta and Dubai, allowing Pertamina to capture business opportunities more quickly in the future and act as an extension for Pertamina’s business development, so other subholding units must also be present here.

“The opening of this office will not only strengthen operational capabilities but also build Pertamina group's business expansion, build Pertamina's supply chain and serve as a hub for human resource development through relevant technology, business intelligence, as well as legal, supply chain management and stakeholder relations teams that understand business and regulatory law in this country," said Nicke.

Meanwhile, president director of Pertamina Hulu Energi, as the upstream subholding, Chalid Said Salim, expressed the same sentiment.

“PIEP's contribution to oil and gas production to the upstream subholding units is around 20 percent. With the Dubai branch office, communication and coordination with partners will be easier. I hope this step will simultaneously enable the upstream subholding units to operate abroad, considering the role of the international region [subholding unit] in opening opportunities in the Middle East while complementing Pertamina's upstream subholding units efforts to optimize the domestic sector," said Chalid.

The office located in Almas Tower will be a representative office for PIEP, which will encourage a global spirit to increase revenue and other added value.

Meanwhile, president director of PIEP Jaffee A Suardin stated that initial talks for new oil and gas block investments had been seriously conducted with the Iraqi upstream oil and gas authority.

“We invited the Iraqi upstream oil and gas authority to Indonesia to get a direct overview of Pertamina's business. Recent exploration and communications with the Iraqi upstream oil and gas authority have been positive. Additionally, PIEP has invited the Iraqi upstream oil and gas authority to join Pertamina’s management of several assets.”

The overseas office is PIEP's third, PIEP already has PT Pertamina Algeria EP (PAEP) in Algeria and PT Pertamina Malaysia EP (PMEP) in Kuala Lumpur.

Geographically, the opening of the Dubai office reduces the time difference, making it significantly easier to target opportunities in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and America.

As a brief recap, Pertamina has been operating in Iraq through a 20 percent participating interest in the West Qurna 1 Block, contributing about 70 percent of PIEP's total production. This oil block is located in southern Iraq, near Basra, 400 kilometers southeast of Baghdad.

In its operations at West Qurna 1, Pertamina has partnered with Petrochina, ITOCHU, Basra Oil Company and Oil Exploration Company.

Pertamina corporate communications vice president Fadjar Djoko Santoso stated that PIEP's overseas expansion aligned with the Go Global initiative, which is a part of Pertamina’s vision and the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Ministry’s aspirations.

“The opening of PIEP's new office in the Middle East will open up new potential for the company's upstream business development and further strengthen Pertamina's positioning in the international oil and gas industry,” said Fadjar.

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