Indonesia awarded two oil and gas exploration blocks located off northern Sumatra, to Conrad Asia Energy on Tuesday, a senior energy ministry official said, the first awarded this year.
The two blocks have total estimated resources of 2.2 billion barrels of oil (BBO) and 13.4 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas.
Conrad has agreed to a geological and geophysical survey, 3D seismic acquisition and an exploratory well in the first three years, with an investment of $30 million, said the ministry's director general of oil and gas, Tutuka Ariadji.
Once a member of OPEC, Indonesia become a net importer of oil in early 2000s as production dwindled. It is targeting reaching 1 million barrels per day of oil lifting by 2030. In the January-September this year, Indonesia's oil lifting stood at 610,100 bpd, below a target of 703,000 bpd.
The blocks awarded on Tuesday were among five offered in tenders launched in July. Authorities were still processing bids for the three other blocks. Indonesia also launched a bidding round for two oil and gas working areas on Tuesday under a direct offer process, he added.
Those are the Jabung Tengah working area on Sumatra island, an exploration block with estimated resources of 200 million barrels of oil, and Paus block in offshore East Natuna Sea with estimated resources of 2.5 TCF of gas.
(Reporting by Bernadette Christina, Editing by Fransiska Nangoy and Martin Petty)