TANGERANG: The Indonesian and Malaysian governments have approved the changes of ownership for oil and gas blocks that will be transferred to a new joint venture between PETRONAS and Eni, a PETRONAS executive said on Thursday.
Italy's Eni and Malaysian state energy company PETRONAS in November signed a deal to form a joint venture company that will manage 19 assets, consisting of 14 assets in Indonesia and five in Malaysia.
The governments of the two countries have now approved the transfer of the production-sharing contracts of these assets from PETRONAS and Eni to the new company SEARAH, Yuzaini Md Yusof, head of PETRONAS in Indonesia told Reuters on the sidelines of an Indonesia Petroleum Association conference.
Following the approvals, the two companies are now conducting internal procedures to complete the deal, he said.
"The date that we set is for July 1, but we will announce officially once everything is settled," he said, referring to the expected date of the new company's operational start.
Eni has said that the joint-venture will integrate a portfolio of gas-producing and development assets with an initial production base of more than 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) and plans to expand that to more than 500,000 boepd in the medium term. - Reuters
