Pertamina eyes US-based hess asset in Indonesia

JAKARTA. PT Pertamina, Indonesia’s state-run energy company, is looking into assets belonging to the New York-based Hess Corporation in Indonesia and Thailand to help boost its output.

Pertamina director for investment planning and risk management Afdal Bahaudin said on Wednesday that the assets the company was aiming for included a 75 percent participating interest and operatorship in the Ujung Pangkah block in Gresik, East Java.

“[Hess’ plan to sell its assets] is an open tender and it may include a plan to sell its assets in Thailand. Pertamina is currently reviewing whether to purchase them,” he said in a text message.

In June this year, PT Saka Energi Indonesia, the upstream arm of state-owned gas distributor PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN), already acquired Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company’s 25 percent participating interest at the block for US$265 million.

Located 50 kilometers from East Java’s industrial center in Surabaya, the Ujung Pangkah block currently produces 40 million meters standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of natural gas and 7,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil and condensate.

In March this year, Hess announced it would divest its exploration and production assets in Indonesia and Thailand as well as selling its downstream businesses, including terminals, retail, marketing and trading divisions.

Hess, which is aiming to focus on its oil production activity, now operates onshore at Thailand’s Sinphuhorm gas field, where the firm holds a 35 percent participating interest.

In Indonesia, Hess had operated the deepwater block Semai V in the eastern part of Indonesia before it decided to relinquish the block earlier this year following years of unprofitable exploration.

Separately, Widhyawan Prawiraatmadja, the commercial deputy at upstream oil and gas regulatory special task force SKKMigas, said Hess would prefer to sell its Indonesian assets as a whole, including its blocks that were still at the exploration stage.

“It remains an issue whether potential buyers will purchase Hess holdings in Indonesia or cherry pick potential assets,” he said.

The second-largest crude oil producer in Indonesia after American giant Chevron and the third-largest gas producer after France-based Total and British giant BP, Pertamina is pumping up its output by aggressively purchasing domestic and overseas oil and gas assets.

In May, the firm booked a four-fold oversubscription for its offering of global bonds worth $3.25 billion, with the funds being used to finance its acquisition campaign.

Hess’ fellow American company, Texas-based Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (APC), sold its three local subsidiaries to Pertamina last year.

The subsidiaries comprise Anadarko Ambalat Limited, which has a 33.75 percent participating interest in the Ambalat block; Anadarko Bukat Limited, which has a 33.75 percent participating interest in the Bukat block; and Anadarko Indonesia Nunukan Company, which holds a 35 percent participating interest in the Nunukan block — all in North Kalimantan.

The firm aims to acquire a total of five overseas oil and gas blocks by the end of this year.

It has refused, however, to reveal details of its acquisition plans due to non-disclosure agreements.

This year’s acquisitions are expected to boost Pertamina’s total production by at least 32,000 bpd of crude oil.

As of June this year, Pertamina had produced 207,500 bpd in crude oil, a slight increase from the 195,000 bpd it produced during the same period last year.

This output, however, is still below the firm’s production target for the end of this year of 223,000 bpd. (Amahl S Azwar)