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.

Related Article:

Pertamina welcomes Iraqi offer to manage oil and gas block

RI, Iraq agree to remove trade barriers

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 06/14/2010 10:04 AM

Indonesia and Iraq have agreed to eliminate trade barriers and provide incentives to increase bilateral trade volumes, which suffered a sharp decline last year.

During a meeting in Jakarta last week, the two countries’ senior trade officials agreed to establish a task force in the next three months to identify barriers in bilateral trade and investment.

Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said the task force would explore actions and possible incentives to promote the two countries’ trade volume.

Iraq had, for example, offered Indonesian businessmen wider investment opportunities in various sectors — energy and oil and gas, telecommunications, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, banking and housing construction projects — as part of a program to promote trade relations.

“Indonesia and Iraq have a lot of business potential that hasn’t been optimally explored,” Mari said at a press conference Saturday, after the sixth session of the Indonesia-Iraq joint commission meeting on economic, scientific and technical cooperation.

The meeting was also attended by acting Iraqi Trade Minister Safaaldeen Mohammed Abdulhakeem Al-Safi.

According to the Indonesian Trade Ministry, bilateral trade between Indonesia and Iraq

dropped significantly to US$41.26 million in 2009 from $265.59 million in 2008.

Mari said the total trade balance during the period of 2005 to 2009 did not reflected the actual potential. “We are quite optimistic that in the next three years, two-way trade can return to the levels recorded in 2008,” she said.

The ministry said Indonesia’s non-oil and gas exports to Iraq, which mainly consisted of milk, soap, cream, margarine, television sets and tires, reached $40.57 million in 2009. Before the US-led invasion in 2003, Indonesia’s exports of tea reached $70 million a year.

As part of the agreement, Mari said Indonesia invited Iraqi businesspeople to participate in the Trade Expo Indonesia in October 13 to 17 this year, while Indonesian investors were invited to join the Baghdad Fair in November.

“The two countries have also agreed to establish a Trading House in Baghdad and the Indonesian-Iraqi Business Council,” Mari said.

Abdulhakeem Al-Safi said his government had invited Indonesian entrepreneurs to take part in the “rebuilding Iraq” program that offered huge opportunities both in infrastructure and construction development projects.

He promised foreign investors, including those from Indonesia, easier procedures to getting business permits. “We also offer a tax holiday and other kinds of tax exemption for foreign investors,” he said.

Abdulhakeem acknowledged that security remained a problem in his country. “But it’s not as bad as what is being published by western media. Our lives are getting back to normal,” he added.

Fluidcon to export road blockers to Middle East

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

PT Fluidcon Jaya, a consulting company for the mining, and oil and gas industries, as well as manufacturer of road blockers and oil and gas-related equipment, is set to export its latest product to several countries next year.

"We will send two high security system road blockers to a company in Iraq this month. Then, we will send 10 more road blockers there early next year," Fluidcon business development manager Widiantoro Nugroho said Saturday.

In addition, he said, the company would also export 27 road blockers to Thailand in 2008, with Afghanistan and Pakistan also being promising markets.

"We will focus on the international market, especially nations in the Middle East, as we know there is major demands for high security systems in that region," Widiantoro explained.

The company sees big potentials in the domestic market for its road blockers.

"There are many potential market segments here that we can avail of, such as embassies and airports," Widiantoro said. "So far, we've held talks with hotels in Bali about the installation of our security systems."

According to Widiantoro, the 2-5-meter-long road blockers are able to block vehicles weighing up to 20 tons at speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour.

Road blockers, which cost between US$30,000 and $35,000, can be integrated with several other security systems, including finger-print scanning equipment and closed-circuit television, or CCTV.(ndr)