Officially Acquire 35 Percent Of Shell Shares In Masela Block, Pertamina Disburses IDR 9.75 Trillion

Pertamina President Director Nicke Widyawati (Photo: Doc. ANTARA)

JAKARTA - PT Pertamina (Persero) and oil and gas giant from Malaysia, Petronas has officially narrowed the participation rights of 35 percent of the Masela Block from Shell.

Through the announcement on Shell's official website, it is known that to annex the WK located in the Arafuru Sea, Pertamina and Petronas had to spend up to 650 million US dollars or equivalent to Rp9.75 trillion.

Shell's management wrote that the basic consideration for the sale was US$325 million in cash with an additional amount of the contingent of US$325 million which must be paid during the final investment decision (FID).

"The decision to sell our participation in Masela PSC is in line with our focus on a disciplined capital allocation," said ShellZo's Director of Integrated Gas and Hulu.

This signing was carried out by Pertamina Subholding, namely PT Pertamina Hulu Energi (PHE).

PHE will later manage 20 percent of the holdings and 15 percent will be managed by Petronas.

The signing of the sale and purchase agreement for ownership of Blok Masela was carried out directly by PHE President Director Wiko Migantoro, Naib Executive President & Chairman of Huluan Executive Employee Petronas Datuk Adif Zulkifli, and Director Finance for Acquisition Investment and NBD Asia Pacific Shell Kuo Tong Soo.

The signing was held at the opening ceremony of the Indonesian Petroleum Association (IPA) Convention on Tuesday, July 25, 2023 and was witnessed by Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arifin Tasrif, Director General of Oil and Gas Tutuka Ariadji, Head of SKK Migas Dwi Soetjipto, and President Director of Pertamina Nicke Widyawati and President & Chair of the Petronas Collection Executive Chair Tan Sri Tengku Muhammad Taufik.

Pertamina President Director Nicke Widyawati said that in order to meet national energy needs, a commitment is needed to maintain oil and gas supply from the upstream side.

"In addition to managing existing fields, a strategy is needed to develop new fields, one of which is the Eternal Field in the Masela Block," said Nicke.

Nicke explained that the Eternal Field of Blok Masela has the potential to absorb up to 10,000 workers.

The development of the Masela Block is expected to help accelerate the development of local areas so that they can create new jobs and can absorb local workers.

This will certainly have a direct impact on economic development in Eastern Indonesia.