Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 23 -- Indonesia's Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro will ask state oil and gas company Pertamina and ExxonMobil Corp. to clarify their respective stakes in Cepu oil field of east-central Java.
"We are going to ask them [Pertamina and ExxonMobil] to clarify the matter because it is now becoming urgent," Yusgiantoro told journalists Aug. 22. He said the issue had to be resolved before Sept. 25, when a new contract is to be signed.
Under the existing memorandum of understanding, Pertamina is to have a 45% share of the block, while ExxonMobil is to have 45% and the regional government 10%. But Yusgiantoro said Pertamina later claimed a 55% stake.
"We have asked Pertamina to settle the matter internally in the first instance," he said, adding that the government also would meet with ExxonMobil managers to negotiate the share split with Pertamina.
Two years ago, ExxonMobil faced a large dilution of its interest in the Cepu block, where the company made two significant oil discoveries in 2001 (OGJ Online, Oct. 4, 2002).
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].
