The Norwegian oil firm Statoil on January 16 signed a production sharing contract on a 40 percent share in a 5,000 sq km deepwater Kuma block off the coast of Indonesia, which considered as the first winning award in exploration acreage in the country.
An operator ConocoPhillips has 6o percent stake in Kuma.
The companies’ winning bid consisted of a USD 5 million signature bonus, 1,000 square kilometres of 2D seismic and one well.
“This award marks an important new entry into the upstream business in Indonesia for Statoil and fits well into our overall E&P strategy,” says Bill Maloney, senior vice president for global exploration (GEX).
The Kuma block lies directly off the west coast of Sulawesi, the largest island in eastern Indonesia, with water depths ranging from between 1,000 and 2,000 meters.
“In this project we will use our experience from deepwater operations around the world and build on our ability to apply advanced technology in our upstream ventures,” continues Bill Maloney.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia and minister of energy and minerals Purnomo Yusgiantoro were present during the signing ceremony.
