REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia's state-owned energy company, PT Pertamina, has hailed a senior minister for proposing to invite Japan to participate in the East Natuna Block gas project in the province of Riau Islands.

Pertamina, ExxonMobil and PTT Thailand have formed a consortium to develop the gas field in the border region. "This is a big investment. The consortium is still to discuss it. I think in view of the big investment needed, it will be good if a number of parties participated. Certainly, the issue will be discussed by the consortium," Pertamina's president director Dwi Soetjipto said at the office of the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs here on Monday.

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan has invited Japan to participate in the project to exploit the East Natuna block in the Sumatran province. Dwi pointed out that the profit sharing concept was the crucial point to discuss. "What is important now is the formula to share the profits so that the project?s economic value can be realized," he added.

The director general of oil and gas of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, IGN Wiratmaja Puja, underlined that the consortium was still discussing the production sharing contract. He admitted that Japan and Malaysia (Petronas) have also been invited to develop the block. "Japan has been invited and also Malaysia, and we hope they will be interested," he noted.

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Malaysia's Petroleum Nasional Berhad (Petronas) had indeed been a member of the consortium but later withdrew. Petronas joined the East Natuna consortium when the Principle of Agreement for the exploration and exploitation of East Natuna was signed on August 19, 2011.

At the meeting with Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in Malaysia early in September, Minister Luhut had invited Petronas to participate in the oil and gas exploitation in East Natuna. The East Natuna Block plans to first produce oil while gas production will be undertaken after a study in view of the fact that its carbon dioxide (CO2) content can reach up to 72 percent.

The production sharing contract of the East Natuna Block could be signed even though it was expected to happen in September last year since no agreement was reached regarding the profit sharing formula.

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