Jakarta, IO – PT Pertamina (Persero) and Petronas officially acquired the ownership of Shell Upstream Overseas Service Limited (SUOS) in the Masela Block, Maluku.
The sale and purchase agreement was entered into by Pertamina through PT Pertamina Hulu Energi (PHE) and Petronas through Petronas Masela Sdn. Bhd, per Antaranews, Tuesday (25/7).
Petronas Masela will take over 35 percent of Shell’s ownership in the block. Meanwhile, PHE and Petronas Masela will manage 20 percent and 15 percent of the ownership, respectively.
Pertamina president director Nicke Widyawati said that this step was taken to meet national energy demand which requires a commitment to maintain oil and gas supplies from the upstream sector.
“Apart from managing the existing fields, a strategy is needed to develop new fields, one being the Abadi Field in the Masela Block,” said Nicke.
Furthermore, she said the development of the block is expected to help accelerate local development and create up to an estimated 10,000 new jobs.
“This will certainly have a direct impact on economic development in Eastern Indonesia,” said Nicke.
Read: Demand For Flights Increases, Govt To Revitalize SHIA
The Masela Block is one of the National Strategic Projects (PSN) comprising 2,503 square km of working area. The Rp285 trillion project is targeted to start production in 2027.
It has the potential to produce 1,600 million standard cubic per day (MMSCFD) gas or the equivalent of 9.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas per year and up to 35,000 barrels of oil per day. (un)