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Pertamina officially takes over Rokan oil, gas block from Chevron
Pertamina Hulu Rokan (PHR) officially took over the Rokan block in Riau from PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia (CPI), a subsidiary of one of the world’s biggest oil companies, Chevron, on Monday.
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Chevron workers inspect an oil and gas facility at the Rokan Block in Riau at an unspecified date. (SKK Migas/SKK Migas)
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fter a two-year transition period, state-owned energy giant Pertamina has officially taken over the Rokan oil and gas block from United States-based supermajor Chevron in a historical nationalization of one of Indonesia’s most lucrative oil blocks.
Pertamina upstream subsidiary PT Pertamina Hulu Rokan (PHR) took over the block from Chevron’s local arm, PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia (CPI), on Sunday night, marking the end of the US company’s 97-year reign over the Rokan Block located in Riau.
The Rokan Block is currently Indonesia’s second-most productive oil block after the Cepu Block but was, in its heyday, the country’s most productive oil site and the backbone of the country’s membership in the powerful Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
“[This takeover] marks a historic milestone in Indonesia's upstream oil and gas history. PT CPI has managed the block well, thus we hope PHR can continue [CPI’s] success in developing the block,” said Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arifin Tasrif during a livestream takeover ceremony on Sunday night.
Pertamina won operatorship rights over the Rokan Block in July 2018 after beating CPI at an auction. Pertamina inked a production sharing contract (PSC) with the government in May 2018, marking the beginning of the transition to be completed by the time CPI’s PSC expired this month.
Read also: Pertamina wins lucrative Rokan Block contract
Critics previously said the government’s handover of Rokan to Pertamina exemplified how Indonesia’s energy sector had been run according to a nationalistic agenda, particularly ahead of the 2019 presidential election, but then-energy minister Arcandra Tahar hit back saying that Pertamina had fairly won the block because it made a “much better” offer than CPI.
