Pertamina May Acquire Five Oil, Gas Blocks Overseas

Pertamina expects to acquire five oil and gas blocks abroad this year, of which the firm expected to boost its total production in the near future. 

The Indonesian state owned firm has allocated Rp 40 trillion ($4.16 billion) this year to develop its upstream business sector and Rp 18.5 trillion ($2 billion) for acquisitions, Jakarta Post reported.

Citing company officials, the newspaper report said that these assets were situated in several regions including Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa and South America. However, further details were not disclosed but newspaper said that one of the planned acquisitions had to do with the ongoing talks about buying stakes in a Venezuelan oil and gas firm.

Pertamina president director Karen Agustiawan said in a statement Tuesday that the company was “optimistic” that the firm’s planned acquisition of Venezuelan firm Petrodelta SA would go on as planned, the newspaper reported.