Petronas eyes Natuna stake

JAKARTA: PT Pertamina, Indonesia’s state oil company, has shortlisted eight major foreign oil companies, including Petroliam Nasional Bhd, to buy a stake in the Natuna Sea project, which holds a quarter of the country’s gas reserves.

Pertamina will select more than one company to buy a 60% stake in the project, upstream director Karen Agustiawan told reporters here yesterday. Pertamina will retain the remaining 40%, she said.

Petronas and Royal Dutch Shell plc have expressed interest in Natuna D- Alpha, according to Pertamina and the government. Indonesia handed over control of the field to Pertamina this year after cancelling Exxon Mobil Corp’s drilling rights in October 2006, saying the US explorer failed to provide a feasibility study. Exxon denied the claim.

Wood Mackenzie Consultants Ltd is helping Pertamina to select the partners.

Natural gas reserves in Natuna D-Alpha, off the western coast of Borneo island, were discovered in 1973. Production has been delayed because more than 70% of the deposit consists of carbon dioxide, making the gas expensive to extract. — Bloomberg