Interest Expressed by Pertamina in Hess Oil/Gas Block in Papua

Indonesia's state oil firm Pertamina said it was interested to participate in an oil and gas block in Papua operated by U.S. energy firm Hess Corp, a company official said on Tuesday.

The Indonesian government awarded the offshore Semai V block to Hess last month that eliminated several major companies, including Pertamina in the bidding round.

Pertamina has said it wanted to expand its upstream activities and will participate in several potential oil and gas blocks to boost its reserves.

"We are interested to take a 10 percent stake in Semai. We will submit our proposal if the block is ready to be developed," Iin Arifin Takhyan, Pertamina vice president director, told reporters.

A mines and energy official has said Semai V block has potential oil and gas reserves.

Under the terms of the Semai V PSC, Hess will carry out its first three year exploration commitment in water depths ranging from 100 meters to 2,200 meters.

Pertamina already has several gas fields in Indonesia, including in South Sumatra, which supplies gas-fired power plants in Jakarta via pipeline.

Indonesia, which has far more gas than oil, has pushed companies to move faster in developing gas projects as the country badly needs the fuel for domestic industries and exports.

Indonesia has said it has 8.4 billion barrels proven and potential oil reserves.

Author: Jo Amey