Inpex to Pull Out of Attaka Block Next Year
The Japanese oil and gas company, Inpex Corporation, will pull out of the Attaka Block next year. The contract for the block located in Paser, East Kalimantan, expires in 2017.
Inpex spokesperson Usman Slamet said that after the production sharing contract (PSC) expires next year, they will hand over the Attaka Block assets to the government. Usman added that Inpex has been committed to investing in the oil and gas industry in Indonesia more than 50 years. "We will return it after the PSC runs out," said Usman to Katadata, Tuesday (24/5).
Inpex holds a 50 percent participating interest in the block while the remainder is owned by Chevron Indonesia. This block was designated a national vital object in the energy sector by then Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro in 2008. (See also: Pertamina Eyes 13 Expiring Oil and Gas Block)
Data from the Ministry of Energy show that the Attaka Block was discovered in the 1970s. In 1991, the PSC of the block was extended for 20 years until 2017. (Read: Oil Lifting Exceeds Expectations as Contractors Perform Better).
Inpex also intends to relinquish its participating interest in the East Kalimantan Block. The PSC for the block, which is operated by the company and Chevron, will run out in 2018. Here, Inpex has smaller participating interest of only 7.5 percent.
The government has offered the expiring blocks to Pertamina, which has expressed an interest in taking them over. This is in line with Regulation of the Minister of Energy No. 15/2015 on Oil and Gas Working Area Management.
Under this regulation, the government has three options regarding expiring oil and gas blocks: extending the contracts of existing contractors, transferring the management rights to Pertamina, or dividing the management rights between Pertamina and the existing contractors. (See also: CNOOC to Sell Participating Interest in South East Sumatra Block).
According to Ministry of Energy records, the contracts of eight more oil and gas blocks will expire in 2018. These eight oil and gas blocks are Ogan Komering, Tuban, South East Sumatra, Block B, NSO, Tengah, East Kalimantan, and Sanga-Sanga.
