JAKARTA (ANTARA) – The Indonesian government is stepping up cooperation with Chinese companies to increase the country’s oil and gas reserves and production, said Ariana Sumanto, director of Upstream Oil and Gas Business Development.
He said the three stakeholders were working together to leverage technology provided by several Chinese companies to explore new reserves and increase production in Indonesia.
The three stakeholders are the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s Oil and Gas Directorate General (ESDM), the Special Task Force for Upstream Oil and Gas Activities (SKK Migas) and PT Pertamina Hulu Energi, a subsidiary of state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina.
Two of the five exploration areas in eastern Indonesia are already being explored with the cooperation of Chinese oil and gas companies Sinopec and PetroChina, with Buton and Timor designated as joint research areas in June.
“Once the joint study is completed, we will open direct bidding for the oil and gas exploration areas, select the successful bidders and begin exploration for oil and gas,” Sumant said in an official statement on Friday.
Furthermore, he said several Chinese companies participated in the auction of five oil and gas blocks at the Indonesia Petroleum Association (IPA) 2024 Convention and Exhibition held in May.
“The auction of these blocks is part of our strategy to discover new oil and gas reserves,” he said.
In terms of ramping up production, Pertamina is working with Sinopec to introduce technologies aimed at boosting Indonesia’s oil and gas production. One of the proposed collaborations with Sinopec also includes a joint venture plan.
The government is currently applying for permission to access oil and gas data before the two companies sign a non-disclosure agreement, after which Sinopec will send technical teams to five exploration areas to conduct research and technical evaluations.
Sumant said the ESDM Minister has instructed to speed up collaboration with Chinese companies.
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