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AKARTA: PT Pertamina announced on Monday that it had sealed an agreement with US oil and gas company Anadarko Offshore Holding Company LLC to buy 100 percent stakes in the latter’s three subsidiaries operating in Indonesia.

The state-run energy firm’s spokesman Ali Mundakir told The Jakarta Post over the phone that the company, through its subsidiary Pertamina Hulu Energi, had signed the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with the Texas-based Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (APC). Anadarko, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, is one of the world’s largest publicly traded oil and gas exploration and production companies

The three local subsidiaries comprise Anadarko Ambalat Limited, which has a 33.75 percent participating interest in the Ambalat block; Anadarko Bukat Limited, which has a 33.75 percent participating interest in the Bukat block; and Anadarko Indonesia Nunukan Company, which holds a 35 percent participating interest in the Nunukan block.

“This acquisition is a part of the firm’s strategy of aggressively chasing growth in our upstream business by opening access to exploration with the discovery of significant potential reserves near Pertamina’s operations in Bunyu and Tarakan fields [in East Kalimantan],” Ali said.

Located off the coast of East Kalimantan, the Ambalat block, which is believed to be rich in oil, has been a subject of disputes between neighboring countries Indonesia and Malaysia.