Indonesia’s Energi Mega Persada to buy CNOOC’s stake in offshore gas block

Indonesian oil and gas firm PT Energi Mega Persada, today agreed to buy a 36.7-per cent stake in Offshore North West Java oil and gas block from China National Oil Corporation (CNOOC), for $212 million.

ONWJ is operated by PT Pertamina Hulu Energi, a unit of state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina, which holds a 53.25-per cent stake, CNOOC with 36.7 per cent while Singapore's energy investment company Risco Energy and Canada's Talisman Energy hold 5 per cent and 5.03 per cent respectively.

In 1967 ONWJ was awarded the first oil production contract commencing in 1968 and first gas production contract commencing in 1977. ONWJ is located along the coastline of the Java Sea, North East of the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta, covering a area of approximately 11,000 sq km and extends offshore approximately 75km.

ONWJ includes material oil and gas production and on-going development projects to a maximum water depth of 60 metres. It has 56 developed oil and gas fields and currently has three main producing clusters - Ardjuna, Arimbi and Cinta with gross production as of 36 Mbopd of oil and 186 MMscf/d of sales gas as of 1 July 2011.

ONWJ produced an average of around 62,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day during the first nine months of the year, of which, 14,000 is net to CNOOC.

As of the end of December 2010, the company's share of the net proved reserves in the area was 22.26 million barrels of oil equivalent, the company said in a statement.

Hulu Energi is the operator of ONWJ after it bought British oil giant BP's 46-per cent stake in 2009, and later acquired another 7.25 per cent from Japan's Inpex Corp, while Risco Energy acquired a 5 per cent stake from London-listed and Asia-focused Salamander Energy in September this year.