Indonesia Appoints Pertamina and Eni To Explore Oil And Gas Blocks

The energy ministry announced on Wednesday that Indonesia has appointed several firms to conduct exploration of three oil and gas blocks, including units of state energy company Pertamina and Italy's Eni.

Peri Mahakam, Sangkar, and Bunga are the names of the blocks.

This year, Indonesia plans to offer ten oil and gas working areas to contractors, including a block in the South China Sea, as part of its efforts to make new discoveries and reach one million barrels of oil per day by 2030.

A consortium of PT Pertamina Hulu Energi and South Korea's POSCO International Corporation will develop Bunga, located north of East Java, according to senior energy ministry official Tutuka Aridaji.

The block, like Peri Mahakam, has an estimated oil and gas resource of 1.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent, which he said would be explored jointly by a consortium of Pertamina Hulu Energi and Eni Indonesia.

Peri Mahakam spans over 7,400 square kilometres (2,857 square miles) on and off the coast of East Kalimantan province on Borneo Island.

PT Saka Eksplorasi Timur has been awarded the exploration of the Sangkar block, which contains an estimated 130 million barrels of oil and 300 billion cubic feet of natural gas, according to Tutuka.