Indonesia puts more blocks up for bid

Offshore staff

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- The Indonesian government plans to offer 30 new blocks, mostly in deepwater, along with new incentive packages in a move to boost oil and gas production in the country, which has dipped to less than a million barrels from a peak of 1.6 MMbbl per day in the 1990s.

R. Priyono, a director for the upstream oil and gas industry at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, says the incentives will be flexible on drilling the first exploration well in a given production-sharing contract block. However, the limit of drilling commitment would be maintained for the first three years of exploration, he says.

The blocks will be awarded in May or June, either through a tender system or through direct negotiations.

Next month, the government was expected to announce the winners of 20 tenders submitted last for blocks in the previous licensing round.

1/16/2007