Indonesia to soon develop renewable energy

Antara News, Fri, April 6 2012 

 "Indonesia has oil reserves of about 4 billion barrels, and it is estimated this will run out within the next 11 years. Therefore, we need to develop renewable energy as soon as possible."

Kardaya Warnika.
(FOTO ANTARA)

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia will soon develop renewable energy to replace the country`s diminishing oil reserves, according to Deputy Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, Kardaya Warnika.

"Indonesia has oil reserves of about 4 billion barrels, and it is estimated this will run out within the next 11 years. Therefore, we need to develop renewable energy as soon as possible," Kardaya recently said on the sidelines of a seminar entitled `The Development of New Renewable Energy to Save Fossil Fuel for the Sake of National Resilience`.

Officials note that renewable energy could become a solution for dealing with the energy crisis and maintaining energy resilience.

Currently, the nation receives up to 95 percent of its energy supply from fossil energy, such as oil, natural gas and coal.

The attraction of renewable energy includes its being environmentally friendly, endless and available domestically.

"Investment in oil and gas would require billions of US dollars, while renewable energy needs only billions of rupiahs," he noted.

The government hopes that the development of renewable energy will reach 25 percent of the nation`s needs by 2025. However, subsidies are a factor hampering the development of renewable energy, he added.

The ministry is currently developing 100 megawatts of solar power energy (PLTS) and 50 megawatts of windmill power energy.

A location for the development of PLTS is being looked for, while a windmill power energy plant will be built in Yogyakarta.

Editor: Ella Syafputri

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Major Gas Reserve Found Off Kalimantan

Jakarta Globe, Ririn Radiawati Kusuma, February 13, 2012

Chevron Indonesia has discovered a pocket of natural gas off the eastern
coast of Kalimantan that could boost the country’s production by more than
10 percent. (AFP Photo)

               

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Chevron Indonesia, an Indonesian unit of US energy giant Chevron, has discovered a pocket of natural gas off the eastern coast of Kalimantan that could boost the country’s production by more than 10 percent.

The company located a gas reserve of 2.3 trillion cubic feet in the Makassar Strait, and total cost to develop the block is estimated at up to $7 billion, the nation’s upstream oil and gas regulator BPMigas said on Monday.

The company is expected to produce 1,000 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of gas from the block, BPMigas said. Output of 1,000 mmscfd of gas is equal to about 172,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd). Indonesia’s natural gas production last year was 1.5 million boepd, according to BPMigas.

“We have agreed on the plan of development on those blocks, so we already know the reserve for the first phase of the project,” Gde Pradnyana, a spokesman for BPMigas, said on Monday. The total cost to develop the project is estimated at $4 billion to $7 billion, BPMigas said.

Chevron owns four gas blocks in the Makassar Strait, located between Kalimantan and Sulawesi islands, and continues to explore within those blocks for more gas reserves. It began exploration activities on the blocks in 2008.

Of the four blocks, two of them — the Ganal and Rapak blocks — are jointly owned with ENI, an Italian oil and gas company, in which it owns a 20 percent stake.

Chevron is Indonesia’s largest oil producer, with total daily production averaging 477,000 barrels of liquids and total average daily production of natural gas at 611 mmscfd in 2010, according to the company’s Web site.

Chevron operates in partnership with Indonesia’s government under so-called production-sharing contracts.

Indonesia has been struggling to boost oil production after the country’s crude oil output fell below 1 million bpd in 2007.

Oil companies operating in Indonesia produced about 904,000 bpd last year.

“That’s why we want to change the paradigm from oil to gas,” Gde said.

Pertamina Kicks Off $1.4b Refinery Upgrade

Jakarta Globe, December 29, 2011

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, at podium, inaugurated a
$1.4 billion upgrade project at a Pertamina oil refinery in Cilacap, West
Java, on Wednesday. (Antara Photo)

               

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Pertamina, the state-controlled Indonesian oil and gas company, has begun a $1.4 billion project to upgrade an oil refinery in Cilacap, Central Java, with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono inaugurating the project’s groundbreaking on Wednesday.

The company is upgrading its refinery into a residual fluid catalytic cracking plant that can convert crude oil and its residual components into higher-value products such as gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas and propylene.

The refinery, which can currently process 348,000 barrels of crude oil per day, will be able to process an extra 62,000 barrels a day after the upgrade.

“Refineries are an important chain of Pertamina’s downstream sector business,” Karen Agustiawan, Pertamina’s president director, said in a speech. She added that the refinery’s “commercial operation is expected [to begin] by the end of 2014.”

“More than that,” she said, “Pertamina’s refineries play a vital role in the nation’s energy security.”

Pertamina has six refineries with a total processing capacity of one million barrels per day, and the company produces 41 million kiloliters of gasoline per year.

However, the nation’s fuel consumption has reached 56 million kiloliters of gasoline per year and is expected to increase at an annual average rate of 4 percent. Indonesia must import oil products to fill in the production gap.

The Cilacap refinery produces 3.8 million kiloliters of gasoline every year. The upgrade will boost the refinery’s annual production by 1.9 million kiloliters.

State construction firm Adhi Karya and Goldstar of South Korea won an engineering procurement contract worth $931 million to lead the refinery upgrade project.

Iraq invites Pertamina to join bids to explore oil

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Tue, 11/29/2011

Pertamina project.
(ANTARA/Reno Esnir)

The Iraqi authorities have invited Indonesian state-run oil firm PT Pertamina to join bids to explore oil blocks in Iraq.

Iraqi Ambassador to Indonesia Ismieal S. Muhsin said Pertamina stood a good chance of exploring oil in Iraq, but it first had to win the related bids.

“We hope Pertamina will take part in the next bids,” Muhsin said Tuesday in Jakarta, as quoted by kontan.co.id.

Kontan earlier reported that Pertamina had previously declared its readiness to explore Iraq's Western Desert 3 and Tuba blocks.

In April 2002, Pertamina signed a contract to explore and develop the Western Desert 3 block, which is located 300 kilometers southwest of Baghdad and is estimated to contain three billion barrels worth of oil reserves.

The contract stipulated that should Pertamina manage to find oil during three years of geological and seismic studies worth US$24 million in the block, the cooperation would be extended for another two years. The contract’s implementation, however, was disrupted with the US invasion of Iraq that took place in 2003.

Pertamina is also reportedly eyeing the Tuba block, which produces 150,000 barrels of oil per day. To operate the block, however, Pertamina should first compete with three companies: namely, India-based Oil Natural Gas Corp., Algeria-based Algerian Sonatrach and China-based Chinese Petroleum.

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Nigeria to invest Rp 24t in Indonesian refinery deal

The Jakarta Post, Wed, 10/12/2011

Nigeria plans to invest Rp 24 trillion (US$2.68 billion) in Indonesia to fund the construction of three oil refineries, an official says.

The Industry Ministry's director general for manufacturing-based industry, Panggah Susanto, was quoted by kompas.com as saying that both countries had agreed to build the refineries in Indonesia.

Nigeria, which produces 2.6 million barrels of oil per day (bpd), was looking for a partner to refine its crude oil, Panggah said.

"Previously they wanted the refineries to be built in Nigeria," he said Tuesday. "However, as Indonesia is currently improving its downstream industry, Indonesia wanted the refineries to be built here instead."

The refineries, which are projected to produce 300 bpd each, will be used to process crude oil from Nigeria.

"State firm PT Pertamina will buy the crude oil from Nigeria and process it here," he said.

Pertamina Flags $40b Investment in Riau Gas Project

Jakarta Globe, Ririn Radiawati Kusuma, September 05, 2011

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State oil and gas company Pertamina and its partners expect to spend up to $40 billion to develop a gas block in western Indonesia, a company official said on Monday.

Muhammad Husen, director of upstream business at Pertamina, said the huge cost would include investment for exploration, exploitation and gas transportation system.

“The $40 billion cost is the original budget. It can be increased or reduced,” Husen told reporters on Monday.

The East Natuna block in Riau Islands contains about 200 trillion cubic feet of gas and would be the largest gas reserve in Indonesia, according to US oil giant Exxon Mobil. But only 45 trillion cubic feet can be taken because extracting the remainder, with its high carbon content, would be too costly.

Pertamina will cooperate with three other oil and gas companies: Malaysia’s Petronas Carigali, France Total E&P Indonesie and US ExxonMobil Indonesia.

Divvying up the composition of the stakes in the gas block has not been decided. Husen said last month that the ownership stake is expected to be determined in October and the production-sharing contract will be signed on Oct. 28.

A PSC typically stipulates the sharing of revenue between the companies and the government. It also sets tax incentives, tax obligation and cost recovery.

It was not clear whether this East Natuna gas block would be the biggest investment in Indonesia’s oil and gas history.

The East Natuna gas block will require advanced technology to extract natural gas. Last month, Husen said Pertamina and its partners were confident that they have enough expertise and technology to harvest gas from the block.

Total investment to develop the Masela block in Timor Sea and to build the LNG floating terminal is estimated at $19.7 billion upon completion in 2016.

The cost to develop the East Natuna project may be less than the estimated budget, at about $20 billion, Husen said.

“The $20 billion cost is our calculation for using the gas pipeline to deliver the gas,” Husen said. The cost will rise should the delivery system to channel the gas be processed by the LNG plant, he said, though that may depend on the government’s objective.

The consortium, Husen added, has several possible plans for Natuna, including delivering gas through a pipeline to Sumatra and Java. Some of the gas will be sold to Malaysia, he said.

Siam Cement Eyes $1.1 Billion in Indonesian Acquisitions

Jakarta Globe, August 30, 2011

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Bangkok. Thailand's top industrial conglomerate, Siam Cement Pcl, will bid for two Indonesian petrochemical assets worth an estimated $1.1 billion, the company said on Tuesday, as part of a Southeast Asia expansion drive.

The deals are set to be another indication of increasing foreign interest in Southeast Asia's biggest economy, which is attracting investors because of strong economic growth and a buoyant stock market.

Siam Cement, 30-percent owned by the Thai royal family's Crown Property Bureau, said it was interested in PT Sulfindo Adiusaha, an Indonesian chemical producer controlled by Indonesia's Tanojo family.

South Korea's Hanwha Chemical Corp may also bid for Sulfindo Adiusaha, sources with knowledge of the deal said recently.

Sulfindo's owners, the Tanojo-controlled Victoria Group, are seeking to sell the whole company for about $700 million. Separately, Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd is trying to sell its 23 percent stake in PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk in a deal worth an estimated $400 million, two sources with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters recently.

"We are interested in both petrochemical firms in Indonesia...details of the deals cannot be disclosed at this point because they are quite big deals," Siam Cement Chief Executive Kan Trakulhoon told reporters on Tuesday.

Thailand's top energy firm, state-controlled PTT Pcl is also keen to buy a stake in Chandra Asri, an industry source said last week, possibly through its PTT Chemical Pcl unit.

Siam Cement and PTT group have aggressively scouted for opportunities for assets overseas, especially in Southeast Asia.

Reuters

Indonesia may get U.S. help in going green

UPI.com, July 25, 2011 

DENPASAR, Indonesia, July 25 (UPI) -- Indonesia could get millions of dollars in financial aid during the next several years for a sustainable and green economy, the U.S. State Department said.

The U.S. Department of Energy in May examined the potential for investing in oil, natural gas and renewable energy in Indonesia. Both governments discussed the possibilities during talks in Bali between U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa.

The State Department said Indonesia under a Millennium Challenge Corp. compact could get around $600 million during the next five years for investments in environmentally sustainable green prosperity.

Both sides said they were working on completing a second agreement on forest conservation before September. The State Department said it planned to contribute around $20 million toward that agreement.

"I think both Secretary Clinton and I feel ever more confident that the comprehensive partnership between our two countries are in a good state, and that we are actually further deepening and strengthening our collaboration and partnership," said Natalegawa.

Pertamina Plans Rp 2t Geothermal Push

Jakarta Globe, Antara & JG | July 14, 2011

Pertamina Geothermal Energy, a unit of state oil and gas company Pertamina, plans to increase its capital spending by nearly 20 percent next year as part of a push to expand its business, a company executive said.

The company wants to boost its capital expenditure to Rp 2 trillion ($234 million) in 2012 from this year’s Rp 1.7 trillion, the company’s corporate secretary Adiatma Sardjito, said in Jakarta on Thursday.

It plans to build several geothermal power plants, including two 55-megawatt power plants in Ulu Belu, Lampung. The total cost for the two plants is estimated at Rp 385 billion, Adiatma said.

“There will be an additional 110 megawatts of power capacity next year,’’ he said.

The company has been building seven geothermal power plants this year, which are expected to add a combined power capacity of 292 MW.

Adiatma said the company would finance the projects with its own cash and soft loans from overseas financial institutions, including the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the World Bank.

He said most of the company’s projects were located in North Sulawesi, known for its abundant geothermal reserves. The company expects its geothermal capacity to increase to 2,033 MW in 2014 from the current 1,194 MW, Adiatma said.

Meanwhile, Indonesian company Supreme Energy expects operations to start in 2015 at its geothermal power plant in Lampung, which will produce 220 MW of power, said Sutono, secretary of South Lampung district.

He said the exploitation of geothermal energy would produce electricity equal to the power produced by the power plant in Tarahan, also in Lampung, and increase the power supplies in the province, which sits in the southern stretch of Sumatra Island.

The power from the plant will be sold to state utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara. Sutono said the geothermal plant would employ about 62,000 people, helping to relieve unemployment in the province.

Shell plans to enter upstream market in Indonesia

Hans David Tampubolon, The Jakarta Post, Kuala Lumpur, Sat, 07/09/2011

Royal Dutch Shell Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Peter Voser says that his company plans to enter the upstream market in Indonesia within the next few years while further developing its downstream business.

“For Shell, Indonesia plays an important role in Asia, in line with population growth, market development and significant demand,” Royal Dutch Shell CEO Peter Voser said during a discussion with journalists at the Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Friday.

Speaking about the future of energy, Voser said Shell had three pillars for the future, namely more energy, cleaner energy and smarter energy. For more energy, Shell is developing new sources of oil and gas that the world will need.

“Renewable energy sources will supply up to 30 percent of global energy by 2050, while now it is only 13 percent. Shell invested over US$100 billion from 2011 to 2014 to develop new energy. In 2010 we invested more than $1 billion for research and technology development,” Voser said.

Indonesia torture case vs Exxon Mobil revived

Reuters, by Jonathan Stempel, NEW YORK, Fri Jul 8, 2011

(Reuters) - Indonesian villagers who accused Exxon Mobil Corp's security forces of murder, torture and other atrocities have regained their right to sue the giant oil company in the United States.

A federal appeals court said on Friday that companies are not immune from liability under a 1789 U.S. law known as the Alien Tort Statute for "heinous conduct" allegedly committed by its agents in violation of human rights norms.

The 15 villagers contended in their lawsuit that family members were killed and that others were "beaten, burned, shocked with cattle prods, kicked, and subjected to other forms of brutality and cruelty" amounting to torture in Indonesia's Aceh province between 1999 and 2001, a period of civil unrest.

A divided panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals said Exxon Mobil should be forced to defend against such charges.

Given that laws in civilized nations hold corporations responsible for lesser wrongs, "it would create a bizarre anomaly to immunize corporations from liability for the conduct of their agents in lawsuits brought for shockingly egregious violations of universally recognized principles of international law," Judge Judith Rogers wrote for a 2-1 majority.

Friday's decision reversed part of a ruling by the federal district court in Washington, D.C.

It is also at odds with a landmark ruling last September by the federal appeals court in New York, raising the prospect that the U.S. Supreme Court could try to resolve the dispute.

"The ruling basically says that corporations are not above the law," said Jennifer Green, a University of Minnesota law professor and director of that school's human rights litigation clinic, who submitted a brief on the plaintiffs' behalf. "When corporations have knowledge that they are aiding and abetting human rights abuses, they can be held liable in a U.S. court."

Exxon Mobil, based in Irving, Texas, said it is reviewing Friday's decision, calling the plaintiffs' claims "baseless." Indonesia's government has also opposed the lawsuit.

"NOT ABOVE THE LAW"

The villagers sought to hold Exxon Mobil responsible for having retained soldiers from Indonesia's military as guards for a natural gas facility in Aceh, despite knowing of past human rights abuses by Indonesia's army and that the contract would lead to human rights violations against Aceh villagers.

In its ruling, the D.C. Circuit also upheld the district court dismissal of claims under a different law, the Torture Victim Protection Act.

It returned the case to that court, where a jury could decide liability and any compensatory or punitive damages.

"We have fought these baseless claims for many years," Exxon Mobil spokesman Patrick McGinn said in a statement.

"While conducting its business in Indonesia, ExxonMobil has worked for generations to improve the quality of life in Aceh through employment of local workers, provision of health services and extensive community investment. The company strongly condemns human rights violations in any form."

Agnieszka Fryszman, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said the decision makes clear that corporations would be "as liable as anyone else" for violating international human rights norms.

DISSENT

Friday's decision puts the D.C. Circuit in agreement with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction in Alabama, Florida and Georgia.

It also put both courts at odds with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which said companies are not liable in U.S. courts for violating international human rights law.

That case was brought against Royal Dutch Shell Plc by the families of seven Nigerians executed by a former military government. They accused Shell of helping Nigerian authorities violently suppress protests against its oil exploration and development in the 1990s. [ID:nN04244684]

The 2nd Circuit decision applies in New York, Connecticut and Vermont.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh dissented from Friday's decision, saying it would be "quite odd" for a U.S. court to allow Alien Tort Statute claims against a corporation based on customary international law, when no international tribunals would.

He also said the ruling could harm U.S.-Indonesian relations, and perhaps damage the war on terrorism.

Kavanaugh was appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush. Rogers and Judge David Tatel, who comprised the majority, were appointed by President Bill Clinton.

Exxon shares closed up 6 cents at $82.42 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The case is John Doe VIII et al v. Exxon Mobil Corp et al, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 09-7125.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; additional reporting by Anna Driver in Houston and James Vicini in Washington, D.C.; editing by Tim Dobbyn, Andre Grenon and Matthew Lewis)

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E Kalimantan builds three industrial estates

Antara News, Mon, May 30 2011

Samarinda, East Kalimantan (ANTARA News)- To build a highly competitive regional economy to raise the welfare of the local population, the East Kalimantan provincial administration is developing three industrial groups prioritizing agricultural and industrial development, and exports.

"The sectors are oleo chemical agricultural based industries in East Kutai, oil, gas and condensate based industries in Bontang, and industrial areas in Kiangau, Balikpapan," East Kalimantan Governor Awang Faroek Ishak said here Monday.

He added that the development of oleo chemical agricultural industries in East Kutai regency was already in line with Presidential Instruction No 1 of 2010 on National Development Priorities, in other words it has the support of the President.

Under Presidential Instruction, East Kalimantan is preparing 5,035 hectares, for the building of an industrial estate and international port (KIPI) Maloy.

The area will be divided into two locations, the first 1,000 hectares in Teluk Golok for a CPO plant, and the second 4,035 hectares in Maloy for an industrial estate and container port.

The project in Bontang was aimed at supporting the development of petrochemicals like urea, ammonia, soda and methanol, while an ammonium nitrate plant is under construction, and the area has raised its urea production capacity by building urea plants.

The industrial estate in Karingau in Balikpapan, will have CPO receiving facilities on 426.9 hectares called PT Mekar Bumi Andalas, a wood pulp plant PT Kutai Chip Mill also already operating in 15 hectares, and a coal handling area PT Gunung Bayan Grup on 400 hectares.

The other projects include an area for a shipbuilding yard and rubber industry PT Dermaga Perkasa Pratama already operating, a Pertamina supply base for offshore drilling on 8.9 hectares.

"The three estates are expected to be developed into a Special Economic Zone, for which the industrial groups need to be fully supported by effective and reliable infrastructural means and facilities," the governor said.

Editor: Aditia Maruli

Govt to build three LNG receiving terminals

Antara News, Fri, May 27 2011

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Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The government plans to build three LNG (liquefied natural gas) storage terminals which are expected to start operating in 2012, a senior energy official said.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry`s director general of oil and gas, Evita Legowo, said here on Friday the three LNG terminals would be built at three locations, namely Jakarta, Belawan (North Sumatra) and Arun in Aceh.

"The operation of the terminals will reduce domestic gas supply problems," she said.

She said the LNG terminal in Jakarta is expected to start operating in the first quarter of 2012 while that in Belawan in the second quarter and that in Aceh in the third quarter of that year.

She said the government also plans to build another LNG terminal in Semarang, Central Java, which is expected to operate in 2013.

The groundbreaking of the LNG terminal project in Jakarta was carried out on Friday morning by the director for general affairs of state-owned oil/gas company PT Pertamina, Waluyo.

The project is carried out by PT Nusantara Regas which is a joint venture of PT Pertamina and state-owned gas company PT PGN respectively holding 60 and 40 percent shares.

The capacity of the floating terminal is planned at three million tons or 400 million cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) with an initial capacity of 1.5 million tons.

The terminal will receive LNG from the refinery in Bontang, East Kalimantan, totaling 1.175 million tons a year based on a ten-year contract or totally reaching 11.75 million tons.

Pertamina`s spokesman M Harun said his side is still seeking supply from other sources to meet the terminal`s needs.

The gas will be used to meet the demands of Muara Karang and Tanjung Priok power plants in North Jakarta.

The Arun terminal meanwhile will be modification of its old function as a supplying terminal into a storage terminal.

"So it is only being reversed so that not much investment will be needed," he said.

He said LNG supply to Arun was expected to come from Bontang or Tangguh in Papua.

The Arun terminal built by Pertamina wiil supply gas to fertilizer companies, power plants, paper and other industries.

Evita said the Belawan terminal which would be built by PGN has received supply up to 140 MMSCFD.

The gas from the terminal with a capacity of 200 MMSCFD will be used by PLN (state power company) totaling 140 MMSCFD and industries 60 MMSCFD.

The LNG to be supplied to Belawan terminal totaling 140 MMSCFD will come from the shifting of exports to Sempra in the United States.

Based on a contract, exports of LNG from Tangguh reach 3.6 million tons a year with the possibility for 50 percent of them or 1.8 million tons a year to be shifted to other buyers with a compensation fee of around one US dollar per MMBTU to Sempra.

Besides Tangguh the PGN will also open an import option to meet the need of gas for the Belawan floating storage and regasification unit.

Editor: Jafar M Sidik

S Korea's Samsung signs contract to build oil facilities in Indonesia

English.news.cn 2011-05-25

JAKARTA, May 25 (Xinhua) -- An senior official said that the Indonesian unit of ExxonMobil Corp. has awarded contracts worth more than 780 million U.S. dollars to South Korean giant Samsung and its Indonesian partner, Tripatra Engineering, to build facilities at Cepu block, local media reported here on Wednesday.

BPMigas chairman Raden Priyono said the project would include building an oil-production facility at the oil and gas field in Central Java. The project was estimated to cost 900 million US dollars, but the consortium bid 780 million U.S. dollars.

"The tender will be completed soon, and its construction is expected to start in August this year," Piryono said on Tuesday. Tripatra is the engineering, procurement and construction services unit of Indika Energy, the nation's leading integrated energy company.

The Cepu block, located in Central Java, is operated by U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil. The field is 45 percent owned by ExxonMobil and 45 percent by state oil and gas company Pertamina, with the remaining 10 percent held by state enterprises, the Jakarta Globe reported.

Cepu's project will contain five separate units, Priyono said, including an onshore production facility, onshore pipes, offshore pipes, an offshore pile and supporting facilities such as an office building. The block is expected raise its disappointing output to 165,000 barrels of oil per day once the facilities are done in 2013.

Editor: Xiong Tong

Winning bidders of three oil/gas blocks announced

Antara News, Fri, May 20 2011

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian government announced the three winning bidders for three oil and gas blocks auctioned through a regular mechanism on December 10, 2010 here on Friday.

They are Eni Indonesia Ltd. winning the bid for Arguni I Block in West Papua, Total E&P Activities Petrolieres winning the bid for South West Bird`s Head in West Papua and Pan Orient Energy Holding Ltd. winning the bid for East Jabung Block on the border of Riau, Jambi and South Sumatra.

The director general of oil and gas of the ministry of energy and mineral resources, Evita Legowo, said the fixed investment commitment for the three blocks in the first three years reached US$113.7 million.

"The signing bonus is US$31.5 million," she said.

The fixed investment commitment for Arguni I is US$86.5 million with the signing bonus of US$25 million. The investment commitment for South West Bird`s Head is US$19.5 million with a signing bonus of US$5 million, East Jabung US$7.725 million with a signing bonus of US$1.5 million.

Besides Eni, two other investors submitted their tender documents for Arguni I Block and for South West Bird`s Head, one investor besides Total submitted its tender document.

Pan Orient is the only one that submitted the tender document for East Jabung Block.

Evita said the fixed commitment for exploration consisting of geological and geophysical studies was US$4.17 million, for seismic and two dimensional surveys US$15 million and for drilling five exploration wells US$76 million.

The three blocks were part of offers made through a regular mechanism in the second round in 2010.

A total of 17 blocks had been offered through a regular bidding mechanism namely East Asahan, North Kuantan, East Jabung, South West Sumatra I, South West Sumatra II, North Merak, West Kangean and East Bankanai, West Sebuku Block, SE Mandar, Gorontalo Tomini, Tomini Bay I, Tomini Bay II, Tomini Bay III, SW Bird`s Head, Arguni I and Arguni II.

Evita said of the 17 blocks only 10 had attracted investors. "But four tender documents for four working areas have been submitted," she said.

Niko Resources Ltd. was interested om Tomini Bay II besides three other blocks. She said however that Niko could not meet the terms so that it could not be declared as the winner.

Besides the 17 blocks offered through a regular bidding the government has also offfered seven blocks through direct bidding in the second round namely Gurita, Sembilang, Marquisa, South Betung, Southern part of Sumatra, Damar and Arafura Sea II.

Editor: Aditia Maruli

RI-US open energy investment roundtable

Antara News, Tue, May 10 2011

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Darwin Zahedy Saleh and US Ambassador Scot Marciel opened the US-Indonesia Energy Investment Roundtable on May 9 in Jakarta.

According to a press release from the US Embassy to Indonesia received here, Tuesday, the Roundtable is a joint effort between the US and Indonesian governments that focuses on the private sector`s role in supporting Indonesia?s energy security and climate change goals as part of the bilateral Energy Policy Dialogue and US-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership.

Approximately 200 participants representing US and Indonesian businesses, government, and trade associations attended the one-day conference.

The Round-table explored ways in which US and other foreign companies can partner with Indonesia to develop and enhance the country`s renewable energy, oil and gas production, and human development.

The event also highlighted policy options to maximize the private sector`s contribution to Indonesia`s economy and energy security goals.

The Roundtable is an integral part of the US-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership, by which the two nations are working closely on clean and renewable energy as well as other key global challenges.

The Partnership advances cooperation on a wide range of issues such as environment, health, education, science and technology, human rights, and entrepreneurship.

The US and Indonesia have engaged in bilateral energy talks since 1990 and launched the Energy Policy Dialogue in 2005 to reaffirm our bilateral ties to support policy options that enhance energy security for both countries.

The most recent Energy Policy Dialogue was held in June 2010 in Washington, D.C.

Editor: Priyambodo RH

Medco to produce 3,000 barrels of oil in Tunisia

Rangga D. Fadillah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 05/09/2011

Medco Tunisia Anaguid, a subsidiary of Indonesia’s largest private oil and gas firm, PT Medco Energi Internasional (MEI), plans to produce around 3,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) at the Durra field in Tunisia.

MEI president commissioner Hilmi Panigoro said on Monday that the company expected the production to kick off in June this year.

“We hope to begin producing oil in June while continuing to test how many barrels we can produce at the block daily in the long-term,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the US-Indonesia Energy Investment Roundtable in Jakarta.

Medco Tunisia Anaguid holds a 20 percent stake in the Durra block while the remaining 80 percent is owned by OMV Anaguid and Tunisian state-owned oil and gas company Tunisienne d’Activites Petrolieres, with 30 percent and 50 percent stakes respectively.

BP signs Indonesian coalbed methane deal

The Jakarta Post, Associated Press, Jakarta, Fri, 04/01/2011

BP PLC says it has signed four new production sharing contracts with Indonesian partners to access coalbed methane in the country.

BP said Friday that the four areas, covering some 4,800 square kilometers in the Barito basin of South Kalimantan, will complement existing operations in Indonesia.

BP has a 44 percent stake in one contract with Pertamina holding the remainder, and a 45 percent stake in the other three contracts with PT Sugico Graha holding the remainder.

Chief Executive Bob Dudley says the contracts awarded by the Indonesian government will tap BP's "significant experience and expertise in the development of unconventional gas."

The London-based company has recently signed agreements to access new resources in Indonesia, China, India and Australia.

Indonesia to Invest in Oil, Mining in East Timor

Jakarta Globe, March 22, 2011

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, right, drives East Timor Prime
Minister Xanana Gusmao in a golf cart during the latter's visit to the presidential
palace in Jakarta on Tuesday. Gusmao and Yudhoyono discussed bilateral issues
between the two countries. (AFP Photo)

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The Indonesian government has expressed an interest in investing in oil and mining infrastructure, among other industries, in East Timor.

“Economic cooperation is vital to developing infrastructure, trade and tourism in East Timor,” said Teuku Faizasyah, the presidential staff for international relations, at a press conference after a meeting between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and East Timor’s Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday.

“Indonesia is willing to invest in the oil and gas sectors,” he said.

The Indonesian government was responding to a bid from the East Timor government to encourage Indonesian investment in the country.

“The Indonesian government positively welcomes the invitation,” Teuku said.

Indonesia on Tuesday also offered its neighbor export credit facilities to purchase military equipment. But Teuku could not confirm the value of the export credit, as it would be discussed in further bilateral meetings between the two heads of state.

Yudhoyono and Xanana on Tuesday witnessed the signing a number of memorandums of understanding (MoU) by ministers from the two countries — including MoU on education and training, tourism and trade, infrastructure development, technical cooperation to decentralize government sectors, marine and fisheries, and transportation.

Prime Minister Xanana is scheduled to remain in Indonesia until March 25.

After his meeting with the president on Tuesday, Xanana was scheduled to give a public lecture at the University of Indonesia.

Antara

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Indonesia supports Timor Leste's ASEAN membership

Japan Asks for More LNG, Oil Supply From Indonesia

Jakarta Globe, March 17, 2011

An undated company handout photo showing a transport ship docked
at the Bontang LNG plant in Bontang, East Kalimantan. Indonesia,
the world’s third-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, has said it
was prepared to ship more of the cleaner-burning fuel to Japan if needed.
(Bloomberg Photo)

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Japan asked Indonesia on Thursday to supply it more liquefied natural gas (LNG) and oil after a devastating earthquake crippled a nuclear power plant.

"After the tsunami and earthquake, Japan's nuclear power plant is damaged and we have a massive shortage of electricity...therefore I asked Indonesia's government to add to its imports of liquid gas and crude oil to Japan," Japan's vice minister of foreign affairs Makiko Kikuta told reporters in Jakarta.

Indonesia, a former OPEC oil producer, is the world's third-largest LNG exporter and largest exporter of thermal coal for power plants.

On Monday, Gde Pradnyana, a spokesman at BPMigas, said Indonesia was prepared to ship more of the cleaner-burning fuel to Japan if needed.

The supplies “will come from excess capacity at Bontang plant,” Pradnyana said, adding that there are still 20 cargoes available for sale from the plant in East Kalimantan province.

BPMigas said in July that Indonesia will offer 60 cargoes of LNG from Bontang, Tangguh and Arun plants to buyers from countries including Japan through 2012.

Arun in Aceh province and Bontang produced more than 95 percent of Indonesia’s LNG in 2009, according to Bloomberg calculations based on official data.

LNG is natural gas chilled to liquid form for transportation by ships to places not connected by pipelines. Qatar and Malaysia are the world’s largest and second-biggest exporters of the fuel, respectively.

Reuters, Bloomberg

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