Pertamina Needs Three Months to Settle at Mahakam Block
26 November 2014 14:58 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - PT Pertamina acting president director Muhammad Husen on Tuesday said he was preparing a reply proposal for the government regarding the management of Mahakam Block.
He said he would inform the government regarding the request tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. “We need three months at the latest,” he said.
Pertamina needs the time to thoroughly study the prospects of the block’s takeover. One of them is directly observing the source of the oil, which is why Pertamina could not yet able to explain Pertamina’s requirements regarding this matter.
Mahakam Block is managed by France-based oil company Total E&P Indonesia with 50 percent of ownership of rights of participation and the rest is owned by Japan-based company Inpex Corporation. The contract will expire in 2017 after 50 years.
The first contract was signed on March 27, 1967, with period of 30 years. On March 31, 1997, the contract was extended for another 20 year and will expire on March 30, 2017. The government has asked Pertamina to take over the block as the major stakeholder to nationalize the oil refinery.
ANDI RUSLI | AYU PRIMA SANDI
