Riau is preparing CPP oil block operation

The cooperation schemes to be used by the province of Riau in operating the Coastal Plain Pekanbaru (CPP) oil field are still being formulated, Governor Saleh Djasit was quoted by Riau Pos as saying.

The governor said in Pekanbaru on Wednesday that technical aspects and details of how Riau province would take over and operate CPP oil block were still studied. But he did not rule out the possibility that the province would carry out an open tender in finding its partners in operating the oil block after the current contract, now help by Caltex Pacific Indonesia (CPI) expired in August next year.

He said that if the province decided the competitive bidding as the alternative in finding the partners in operating the oil block, it could not reject the participation of a company it does not like such as Caltex, the current operator in the bidding.

The government through the ministry of mines and energy has proposed the Riau to cooperate either with Pertamina or Caltex, or with both companies in operating the oil block but none of the offers were accepted. The province instead demanded to operate the CPP oil block with partners of its own choices.

The government approved the province's request but it has yet to decide which partners it would take in operating the oil block. The uncertainty has caused a decline in the CPP oil production to about 50,000 barrels per day at present from 78,000 barrels per day previously as the current contractor CPP reduced the spending for the oil production. (*)