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Only one oil block sold off in May oil block auction
The contract to develop the West Ganal was awarded to a consortium comprising ENI of Italy, state oil company Pertamina and Neptune Energy of the United Kingdom.
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Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan and Deputy Minister Arcandra Tahar converse on the sidelines of a press conference in Jakarta in February, 2019 (Antara/ Rivan Awal Lingga)
T
he Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry announced on Monday that investors have only taken up one of four oil and gas blocks put up in the second round of oil and gas tenders in May this year.
The four oil and gas blocks comprised three exploration blocks namely Bone in South Sulawesi, Kutai in East Kalimantan, West Ganal in Makassar Strait, and mature oil block West Kampar in North Sumatra. However, only the West Ganal block was sold off.
The contract to develop West Ganal was awarded to a consortium comprising three energy companies, which include Italian oil company ENI, state oil company Pertamina and Neptune Energy of the United Kingdom.
As part of the deal, the consortium is committing US$159.3 million to explore a 600-square-kilometer site in West Ganal for three years. The consortium is also paying a $30.1 million signature bonus.
The consortium’s commitment is higher than the amount initially requested by the energy ministry, which was $151.84 million to explore the region and $29 million for the bonus. “This signature bonus is over $30 million. It’s a big accomplishment considering West Ganal didn’t get any bidders in the previous bidding round [in February],” said deputy energy minister Arcandra Tahar in Jakarta.
Arcandra said the three blocks that did not appeal to investors during the second round of the government’s oil and gas block auction this year would be re-auctioned.
Currently, the government is offering five oil and gas blocks in the third round of the oil and gas block auction. These are East Gebang in North Sumatra, West Tanjung I in Central Kalimantan, Belayan I in East Kalimantan and Cendrawasih VIII in Papua.
