Having A Potential Bigger Than Masela, The Warim Block In Papua Will Soon Be Auctioned

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arifin Tasrif (Photo: dock. SKK Migas)

JAKARTA - The Warim Block located in Papua will soon be auctioned off. This was conveyed by the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Arifin Tasrif when met by the media in Nusa Dua Bali.

Arifin explained that the Government is preparing the block auction process which is predicted to have the potential for oil and gas greater than the Abadi Masela Field.

"It's still being prepared. It's just that we need promotion first. If it's an auction, but I don't know at first, how about this?" said Arifin, quoted on Monday, September 25.

He added that the Government and SKK Migas had carried out follow-up studies and had been mapped aeroseismically so that several locations had oil and gas potential.

"There are already spots. Now we have KKKS who really want to do an in-depth investigation," added Arifin.

He was also reluctant to mention the name of the KKKS who was already interested in working on the Warim block. However, he leaked that the KKKS came from abroad.

"Yes, it's okay. Caucasians are just Caucasians," he said briefly.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Special Task Force for Upstream Oil and Gas Business Activities (SKK Migas) Dwi Soetjipto revealed that regarding the potential area of the Warim block that intersects with the Lorentz National Park, he ensures that he will not work on the oil and gas potential in the Lorentz National Park area.

"We are working on things that have no praise. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is currently preparing to auction it off," said Dwi briefly.

It is previously known that this Warim Basin was managed by ConocoPhilips before it was finally released in 2015.

Block Warim also holds a potential of 25.968 billion barrels of oil and 47.37 trillion cubic feet of gas (TCF).

Previously, it was reported that the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) had written to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLH) regarding the overlap in this area and related to exploration activities that would be carried out at Warim.