By Deden Sudrajat and I Made Sentana
JAKARTA--ConocoPhillips (COP) is seeking a buyer for its
offshore Indonesian oil and gas block along with the transportation
system and the onshore receiving facility.
ConocoPhillips' Indonesia's spokesman Joang Soetanto said the
company sent a letter Wednesday to the Indonesian upstream oil and
gas regulator SKK Migas to "open a data room" to determine whether
there is interest from other companies to acquire the company's
interest in the Block B in the Natuna Sea, along with the
associated facility.
Mr. Soetanto dismissed the suggestion that the move is in
response to low oil prices.
"If we can find the proper buyer we will sell it, but if we
don't we will continue to operate the block," he said.
ConocoPhillips has been operating the block for 47 years,
producing 300 million standard cubic feet of gas and 30,000 barrels
of oil per day. The company is entitled to operate the block until
2028. The gas is sold to Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.
He said the decision doesn't mean the company is seeking to exit
the Southeast Asian country, as it was recently awarded the
Kualakurun Block in Kalimantan and is continuing operations in the
Corridor Block in South Sumatra.
Write to I Made Sentana at i-made.sentana@wsj.com
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