Natuna share: sought by the Riau local government
Riau eyes stake in Natuna D
The Riau province local government plans to ask the Indonesian central government for a stake in the gas-rich Natuna D-Alpha Block.
The Jakarta Post quoted Riau Islands Governor Ismeth Abdullah as saying that the plan would be proposed to the central government for approval and is currently being discussed with the operators.
“Several operators have met us to discuss the issue, including ExxonMobil, which has principally agreed with our proposal if they are appointed again to develop the (D-Alpha) block. But we haven't agreed on how much the ownership will be.”
Winning a stake in the block will give the province profit sharing in addition to revenue sharing funds.
Natuna D-Alpha is currently the subject of negotiations between ExxonMobil and the Indonesian government which could result in changes to the production sharing contract.
ExxonMobil has maintained that its PSC is still valid while Indonesia's Minister of Energy & Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro and head of upstream executive agency BP Migas, Kardaya Warnika, have both stated publicly in recent weeks that ExxonMobil's Natuna D-Alpha PSC is no longer valid or about to be terminated.
Natuna D-Alpha has estimated reserves of 222 Tcf of gas, although just 46 Tcf is deemed recoverable because of the high carbon dioxide content.