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Medco adds to stake with Aceh’s Block A gas field

Indonesian energy company Medco Energi Internasional, through its subsidiary Medco E&P Malaka, has sealed another acquisition deal for a gas field amid a sluggish period for the oil and gas industry caused by low oil prices

Viriya P. Singgih (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Fri, November 11, 2016

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I

ndonesian energy company Medco Energi Internasional, through its subsidiary Medco E&P Malaka, has sealed another acquisition deal for a gas field amid a sluggish period for the oil and gas industry caused by low oil prices.

The company announced on Wednesday that it had reached an agreement to acquire a 26.67 percent stake in the Block A gas field in Aceh from its current partner KrisEnergy.

Once the transfer of the participating interests has been agreed upon by the central and regional governments, Medco Energi’s operating interest in the gas field would increase to 85 percent while the remaining 15 percent would be owned by KrisEnergy.

“This acquisition is in line with our commitment to bring added value for shareholders and support national development, in which the government plans to boost infrastructure development in Aceh,” Medco Energi CEO Roberto Lorato said in a statement.

Currently, Medco Energi owns 58.34 percent of the block, while the remaining 41.66 percent belongs to KrisEnergy. The firm has yet to disclose the acquisition price.

The acquisition took place back in May shortly after the Panigoro-controlled company acquired a 16.67 percent stake in the block from Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd.

Medco Energi recently signed an engineering procurement and construction contract worth US$240 million to develop the first phase of the Block A gas field, with a consortium comprising JGC Indonesia and Encona Inti Industri.

The gas field is scheduled to be on stream in the first quarter of 2018.

Furthermore, Medco Energi will supply state-owned energy giant Pertamina with 58 billion British thermal units (BTU) of gas per day — approximately equal to 198 trillion BTU over 13 years.

Recapital Securities analyst Kiswoyo Adi Joe said Medco Energi had made the right decision, as the low global oil prices had reduced the value of oil and gas assets worldwide, providing investors with discounted acquisition costs.

“Medco Energi has managed several acquisitions at the right moment, considering it can sell back those assets in the future when the price has soared,” he said.

The benchmark US crude futures fell 59 cents to $44.39 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The cost rose 21 cents to close at $45.48 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday.

Brent crude, used to price international oil, added 30 cents to make the price $46.60 a barrel in London.

However, Kiswoyo predicted that oil prices would not increase significantly in the near future, as oil producing countries had yet to finalize a deal to curb production. Moreover, the US had also started to export its oil, which led to a further increase in the world supply amid low demand.

Medco Energi booked $48.8 million in net profits within the first nine months of this year, a rebound from a net loss of $46.7 million during the same period in 2015.

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