Pertamina to Hold Majority Interest in the East Natuna Block

Indonesia's state owned PT Pertamina will hold the majority interest in the East Natuna block, a government official said Sunday.

Bernama has stated citing a report in ANTARA news agency that Pertamina previously held 35 per cent, ExxonMobil 35 per cent, Total SA 15 per cent, and Petronas 15 per cent of the participating interest in the block.

Petronas resigned from a consortium exploring the block and returned its participating interest to the Indonesian government.

Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Rudi Rubiandini was quoted as saying holder of operating rights had yet to be decided.

The majority shareholder would not automatically hold the operating rights, he said. The block is believed to hold a total deposit of 500 million barrels of oil and 222 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas, making it the world`s largest gas deposit.

The government expects the block will start producing 1,000 million metric standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of gas in 2020, the report said. Peak production is estimated to reach 4,000 mmscfd.