Indonesia to ink Iran’s oil blocks deal next month: Report
Indonesia’s state-owned Pertamina says it will sign an agreement with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) next month to develop two oil and gas blocks in Iran.
According to Press TV, Iran and Indonesia have stepped up their cooperation, with Pertamina signing a deal with NIOC in May to buy 600,000 tonnes of refrigerated liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
The company now says it will have access to data about four Iranian blocks under a new agreement to be signed next month, out of which it will choose two blocks for development.
“There are two to four blocks that will be evaluated based on the initial study. Of the four, there are two blocks that will be our priority,” Pertamina’s Upstream Director Syamsu Alam said.
Pertamina hopes to boost production from each block by 30,000 barrels per day as part of its upstream development plans. The company is considering a capital expenditure of $5.31 billion this year, of which 72% is for upstream business, the energy information provider Platts said.
The company was once bidding for an exploration and development license for the Laleh offshore block in Iran but the plan was put on the back burner after new sanctions were imposed on Iran.
Pertamina is in advanced talks with Rosneft to acquire a stake in two oil and gas blocks in Russia in line with Indonesia’s expansion of production portfolios overseas.
The Indonesian company is currently operating three oil and gas producing blocks in Iraq, Algeria and Malaysia and plans a capital expenditure of $2 billion on upstream mergers and acquisitions this year.
