"Within a month, we hope all problems would be solved," Tahar said.Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The work and development contracts of the East Natuna Oil Block will be completed shortly by the government and other stakeholders, Energy and Natural Resources Deputy Minister Arcandra Tahar stated here on Thursday.
"Within a month, we hope all problems would be solved," Tahar noted in South Jakarta.
The deputy, however, chose to not reveal further details of the dispute, including the forthcoming schemes and development contracts.
Tahar, who was also the former energy minister, said the government and contractors have yet to sign an agreement.
"The government is now working on ensuring that we will get more than zero percent of the East Natuna Oil Blocks profits," he noted while choosing to stay silent when questioned about the possibility of the gross split scheme being adopted in extending the contract.
The deputy had earlier reaffirmed the governments commitment to expediting the development of the East Natuna Oil Block.
However, he has yet to elaborate on the developments.
ExxonMobil had earlier reportedly agreed to continue working on the block, but the gas production sharing contracts had yet to be inked by the two parties.
According to the ministrys record, the initial gas in place inside the East Natuna Oil Block has reached around 222 trillion cubic feet (tcf) as well as additional reserves of at least 46 tcf.
The block had earlier been explored under a single consortium by the state-owned enterprise Pertamina, the US-based ExxonMobil, and Thailand-based oil producer PTT Exploration and Production.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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