The government is set to open bidding for three ready-to-produce oil and gas blocks — Makassar Strait, Selat Panjang and South Jambi B — in the first week of August.

Deputy Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arcandra Tahar said on Monday that there was enough data on the three blocks to entice potential bidders.

“[The auction] will happen as soon as possible. We expect to start in the first week of August,” he said.

The existing contracts for the Makassar Strait and South Jambi B blocks are set to expire in 2020, while the contract for the Selat Panjang block is set to expire in 2021.

The Makassar Strait block is currently operated by United States energy giant Chevron, which is not seeking a contract extension. The company believes operating the block would be uneconomical if it was included in the Indonesia Deepwater Development (IDD) mega gas project.

Regarding the Selat Panjang block, Arcandra previously said the existing operator, Petroselat Ltd, had filed for bankruptcy, while the recently chosen operator of the South Jambi B block, PetroChina, a Chinese oil and gas state-owned firm, had decided to back out of the project.

Previously, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Oil and Gas Director General Djoko Siswanto said the South Jambi B block faced internal issues. (bbn)

source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/07/31/indonesia-to-auction-three-onstream-blocks-in-august.html