Govt to announce tender awardees of nine oil and gas blocks

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The government is to announce the winners of tenders for the exploration of nine oil and gas blocks in the country, an Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry official said. 

"The tender awardees are the result of regular tenders for the exploration of 21 oil and gas blocks offered in 2007 and 2008," Director General of Oil and Gas Evita Legowo said on the sidelines of Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro`s visit to PT Darmex Biofuels in Bekasi, east of here, on Friday. 

Evita said only nine bidders were declared winners in the tender for the exploration of 21 oil and gas fields. 

The other 12 oil and gas blocks remained unsold because they were mostly located in difficult areas which lacked infrastructure facilities, she said. 

On October 17 this year, the government also announced the winners of tenders for the exploration of 22 out of 25 oil and gas blocks put out to tenders in June 2008. 

Most of the tender awardees were foreign companies. 

Fourteen of the 22 blocks went to foreign companies and the rest to national companies.