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il giant BP has won exploration rights for the development of an oil and gas block in the southern part of Papua, about 400 kilometers from the company’s Tangguh gas block in the province, the government announced Thursday.

BP won the North Arafura block through its subsidiary BP Exploration Indonesia LTD, director general for oil and gas at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Evita Herawati Legowo said.

BP has committed to spend US$3.4 million for exploration activities in the first three years. The activities include a 2D seismic survey in an 80-square-kilometer area. The company will also pay the government $1 million for a so-called “signing bonus”.

“This shows BP’s commitment to stay in Indonesia,” Nico Kanter, head of BP Indonesia, said.

In June last year, BP pulled out from the offshore North West Java (ONWJ) oil and gas block by selling its 46 percent participating interest in the block to state oil and gas company PT Pertamina in an acquisition worth $280 million.

BP currently is developing a massive gas block in the province to feed its Tangguh Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project in Bintuni Bay of Papua, around 400 kilometers from the newly secured North
Arafura block.

The project has long-term contracts to supply 2.6 million tons of LNG a year to the Fujian terminal in China, 1.5 million tons a year to K-Power and POSCO in South Korea, and a flexible contract to supply up to 3.7 million tons a year to Sempra’s LNG terminal in Baja California, Mexico.

BP also formed a joint venture with Italy’s ENI in VICO, the operator of the Sanga-Sanga gas project in East Kalimantan.

On Thursday, the government also awarded exploration rights in three other oil and gas blocks:
The North Sokang block in Natuna Sea; the Titan block in offshore Madura; and the Bone block in Sulawesi.

Local company Ephindo Oil and Gas Holding Inc. won exploration rights for the North Sokang block with the company committed to invest $10.2 million for exploration in the first three years.

The Titan block’s exploration right was awarded to a consortia of Awe Ltd, PT Baruna Recovery Energy and PT Sillo Maritime Perdana. The consortia has pledged to invest $8.3 million for the first three years of exploration.

As for the Bone block, the government awarded the exploration rights to Mitra Energy Limited with the company planned to invest $6.1 million for the exploration in the first three years.

From the exploration rights awarded on Thursday, the government expects to book an investment commitment amounting to US$28 million and revenue of as much as $4.2 million from the signing bonuses.