SKK Migas Signals Pertamina-Shell Negotiation Process Regarding Masela Management To Be Completed Soon

JAKARTA - The Special Task Force for Upstream Oil and Gas Business Activities (SKK Migas) revealed that the negotiation process for the transfer of management of the Masela Block between Shell and Pertamina is still ongoing.

However, the Head of SKK Migas Dwi Soetjipto said the process would soon be completed.

"Pertamina's negotiation process with Shell to take the PI shell is currently in progress and is expected soon," he said in a press conference in Jakarta, quoted on Thursday, January 19.

Without mentioning numbers, he said, he ensured that the negotiation process would be completed in the near future.

"The name of the negotiation is that there must be ups and downs, so hopefully it can run soon," he added.

Dwi said that currently, many companies are also interested in joining the Masela Block consortium with Inpex Corporation, such as Petronas and PetroChina.

"Other parties are also interested and also the engine, logically, will also continue the existing process. Hopefully, Pertamina will deal and others will join there, and later it will depend on Pertamina itself and also Inpex as the operator," explained Dwi.

As previously reported, an oil and gas company from China, PetroChina Company Ltd. to an oil and gas company from Malaysia, Petronas are interested in entering the Masela Block which is in the Tanimbar Archipelago, Maluku Province, Indonesia.

The Masela Block has a very large gas reserve potential, reaching 10.73 trillion cubic feet (Tcf).

Because of this, the Masela Block is often referred to as the eternal gas field. The government claims that the gas reserves in the Masela Block will not run out for the next 70 years.