Indonesia Offers 24 New Oil and Gas Blocks

Please find below the message of the news. Some conclusion of recent de-regulation and boost for foreign investment in oil and gas is as follows:

1. Indonesia is now oil importer and it is going to go all out to increase oil and gas exploration to increase oil and gas production

2. Indonesia hystorically involved more on onshore oil and gas exploration and in recent years have increased the portion of untapped offshore oil and gas exploration

3. Indonesia is moving towards deeper water exploration and areas with huge potential of oil and gas reserve and more towards the eastern part of Indonesia where economic activities are pacing at slower rate - Deeper water exploration means that tanker will travel a lot farther than it used to be

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Yessar Rosendar - Jakarta Globe

The government on Tuesday officially opened 24 new oil and gas blocks in a drive to bolster energy output and investment, a senior official at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said on Tuesday. Evita Legowo, director general of oil and gas at the ministry, said that the blocks would be awarded through tenders and direct appointments. “Seven blocks will be offered directly, while 17 will be offered through regular tenders,” Evita said. Offshore blocks located in South Sulawesi, West Java and Central Java are among those that will be directly assigned to some companies. Most of the 17 blocks up for bidding are located in the eastern part of the country, including the Tomini Basin and Bone Bay offshore blocks in Gorontalo on Sulawesi. The Tomini Bay and Gorontalo Tomini working areas, which include seven blocks, are seen as the most promising sites. “Gorontalo and Tomini are believed to hold huge amounts of resources,” Evita said. She said proposals for direct appointments would be accepted until July 30, while regular tender bids would be accepted until Oct. 13. Last year, the government signed 33 contracts worth $912.1 million, covering resources such as oil, natural gas and coal-bed methane. The contracts included 29 oil and natural gas blocks, consisting of 20 direct-offer blocks and nine regular-bid blocks worth a combined $891.8 million, as well as four coal-bed methane projects worth $20.3 million. Evita said contracts for six blocks now operated by multinational energy companies were due to expire this year. The operators are seeking extensions from the government. “Pertamina is interested in the Madura Strait and Mahakam blocks, but it is not planning to become a major shareholder,” she said.