The visit of United States Vice President Mike Pence to Indonesia has not been able to complete the negotiation of the cooperation contract of East Natuna Block development.
The Government of Indonesia continues to seek to obtain the proceeds from the East Natuna Block so that it not only obtains income from taxes alone. East Natuna Block will be developed by consortium ExxonMobil, PTT EP Thailand, and PT Pertamina (Persero). The consortium proposes a 0%: 100% profit-sharing scheme, which is entirely for contractors.
Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Arcandra Tahar said the government wants to get a share in the contract of Natuna Fast Block. However, he does not mention what percentage of the government's desired revenue share. He just made sure that the share of Fast Natuna is not 100% for the contractor.
He claimed to have discussed it with Senior Vice President of ExxonMobil Corporation Mark W. Albers when visiting Indonesia in early April 2017. ExxonMobil party will send a letter in response to the request of Indonesia.
"The country can only be zero. Only taxes, 100: 0 and we can only tax only.
Things like this we need to discuss further, "he said on Thursday (20/4).
According to him, the problem of cooperation contracts has been the concern of the government and contractors while waiting for the completion of technology and market review (TMR). The government is awaiting a response from a consortium of contractors.
Since it was discovered in the 1970s by ENI Italia, and named Natuna D Alpha, the project has not been developed until it is renamed East Natuna. Currently, PT Pertamina as a consortium leader in partnership with ExxonMobil and PTT EP Thailand is still conducting a study that is planned to be completed this year. "Hopefully in a few more months it will be resolved," he said.
Senior Vice President of Upstream Business Development of Pertamina Denie Tampubolon said it did not know the corresponding letter referred to the Deputy Minister of Arcandra.
Apart from that, he said, TMR is still running and is targeted to be completed by June 2017. TMR will be a reference to establish fiscal requirements in the cooperation contract. "We still do TMR. The target is by June 2017, "he said.
Separate development options between oil and gas because it is feared that the oil structure will disrupt the gas structure. Based on data from the ESDM Ministry, East Natuna Block holds the potential of 222 trillion cubic feet (TCF) gas with only 46 TCF of which can be produced. The reason, 72% of the composition is carbon dioxide.
Thus, it takes the technology of the company also injection of carbon dioxide that can produce gas efficiently.
ENERGY INVESTMENTS
In connection with the visit of United States Vice President Mike Pence, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the government has discussed the introduction of investment in the energy sector, for example, the development of the East Natuna Block by ExxonMobil and the Indonesia Deepwater Development (IDD) by Chevron.
Chevron Indonesia Company is revising the IDD plan of development (PoD) due to an increase in investment value from US $ 6.9 billion in 2007 to US $ 12 billion in 2014. The unfinished POD revision has impacted the postponement of final investment decision of the IDD project.
However, until now the development has not continued since the government did not accept the proposed incentives in the form of investment credit to make the project economical. Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia Jusuf Kalla plans to give a speech in the event Indonesia-American business forum today. The event will be attended by Mike Pence.
ESDM Minister Ignatius Jonan said the talks conducted on Thursday (20/4) with Mike Pence only touch the macroeconomic aspects.
"The discussion of the energy sector in a more macroscope is expected to improve the Indonesian economy," he said.
Pence emphasized this visit will enhance the strategic partnership between the two countries, especially in the energy field. "We want to prioritize Indonesia as a business partner in the energy sector," Pence said.
IN INDONESIAN
Negosiasi East Natuna Belum Tuntas
Kunjungan Wakil Presiden Amerika Serikat Mike Pence ke Indonesia ternyata belum mampu menuntaskan negosiasi kontrak kerja sama pengembangan Blok East Natuna.
Pemerintah Indonesia tetap mengupayakan agar mendapatkan bagi hasil dari Blok East Natuna sehingga tidak hanya memperoleh pendapatan dari pajak saja. Blok East Natuna akan dikembangkan oleh konsorsium ExxonMobil, PTT EP Thailand, dan PT Pertamina (Persero). Konsorsium mengusulkan skema bagi hasil 0%:100%, yaitu seluruhnya untuk kontraktor.
Wakil Menteri Energi dan Sumber Daya Mineral (ESDM) Arcandra Tahar mengatakan, pemerintah ingin mendapatkan bagian dalam kontrak kerja sama Blok Fast Natuna. Namun, dia tidak menyebut berapa persen yang bagi hasil diinginkan pemerintah. Dia hanya memastikan agar bagi hasil Fast Natuna bukan 100% untuk kontraktor. Dia mengklaim telah membicarakan hal itu dengan Senior Vice President ExxonMobil Corporation Mark W. Albers ketika berkunjung ke Indonesia pada awal April 2017. Pihak ExxonMobil akan mengirim surat sebagai respons atas permintaan Indonesia.
“Negara itu hanya dapat nol. Hanya pajak, 100:0 dan kita hanya dapat pajak saja.
Hal-hal yang seperti ini perlu kita bicarakan lebih lanjut,” ujarnya, Kamis (20/4).
Menurutnya, masalah kontrak kerja sama sudah menjadi perhatian pemerintah dan kontraktor sambil menanti rampungnya kajian teknologi dan pasar (technology market review/TMR). Pemerintah sedang menanti respons dari konsorsium kontraktor.
Sejak ditemukan pada 1970-an oleh ENI Italia, dan bernama Natuna D Alpha, proyek tersebut belum bisa dikembangkan hingga berganti nama menjadi East Natuna. Saat ini, PT Pertamina sebagai pemimpin konsorsium bermitra dengan ExxonMobil dan PTT EP Thailand masih melakukan kajian yang rencananya selesai pada tahun ini. “Semoga dalam beberapa bulan lagi bisa terselesaikan,” katanya.
Senior Vice President Upstream Business Development Pertamina Denie Tampubolon mengatakan, pihaknya tidak mengetahui terkait surat yang dimaksud Wakil Menteri Arcandra tersebut.
Terlepas dari itu, dia menuturkan, TMR masih berjalan dan ditargetkan selesai pada Juni 2017. TMR akan menjadi acuan untuk menetapkan syarat-syarat fiskal dalam kontrak kerja sama. “TMR masih kita kerjakan. Targetnya paling lambat Juni 2017,” katanya.
Opsi pengembangan terpisah antara minyak dan gas karena dikhawatirkan struktur minyak akan mengganggu struktur gas. Berdasarkan data Kementerian ESDM, Blok East Natuna menyimpan potensi gas 222 triliun cubic feet (TCF) dengan hanya 46 TCF di antaranya yang bisa diproduksi. Pasalnya, 72% komposisinya adalah karbondioksida.
Dengan demikian, diperlukan teknologi perusahan juga injeksi karbondioksida yang bisa memproduksi gas secara efisien.
INVESTASI ENERGI
Terkait dengan kunjungan Wakil Presiden Amerika Serikat Mike Pence, Wakil Presiden RI Jusuf Kalla mengatakan pemerintah telah membicarakan pendahuluan investasi di sektor energi, contohnya perihal pengembangan Blok East Natuna oleh ExxonMobil dan proyek migas laut dalam atau Indonesian Deepwater Development (IDD) oleh Chevron.
Chevron Indonesia Company sedang merevisi rencana pengembangan lapangan (plan of development/PoD) IDD karena adanya kenaikan nilai investasi dari US$6,9 miliar pada 2007 menjadi US$12 miliar pada 2014. Belum selesai-nya revisi POD berdampak pada penundaan keputusan final investasi proyek IDD.
Namun, hingga kini pengembangan belum berlanjut sejak pemerintah tidak menerima usulan pemberian insentif berupa kredit investasi untuk membuat proyek ekonomis. Wakil Presiden RI Jusuf Kalla rencananya akan memberikan sambutan dalam acara forum bisnis Indonesia-Amerika hari ini. Acara tersebut akan dihadiri Mike Pence.
Menteri ESDM Ignasius Jonan mengatakan perbincangan yang dilakukan pada Kamis (20/4) dengan Mike Pence hanya menyentuh aspek ekonomi makro.
“Perbincangan sektor energi dalam lingkup yang lebih makro sehingga diharapkan mampu meningkatkan perekonomian Indonesia,” katanya.
Pence menegaskan kunjungan kali ini akan meningkatkan kemitraan strategis antara kedua negara khususnya di bidang energi. “Kami ingin memprioritaskan Indonesia sebagai rekan bisnis di sektor energi,” kata Pence.
Bisnis Indonesia, Page-30, Friday, April, 21, 2017