ID :
30031
Thu, 11/13/2008 - 15:14
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Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/30031
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GOVT TO SUPPORT FORMATION OF PERTAMINA-MEDCO JOINT VENTURE
Jakarta, Nov 13 (ANTARA) - The government will support a reported plan of state-owned oil company Pertamina and Medco International to set up a joint venture in the upstream oil and gas business in overseas oilfield blocks, a minister said.
"If they (Pertamina and Medco) agree to set up a joint venture to develop new fields, the government will support it," State Enterprises Minister Sofyan Djalil said here on Thursday.
The minister was commenting on the reported possibility of Pertamina and Medco cooperating in the oil and gas upstream sector and operate jointly in international oil and gas field business.
The leaders of the two companies were said to be confident that if they teamed up and formed a joint venture they would be able to compete and develop or operate major oil and gas field blocks overseas.
But Djalil admitted he had no precise knowledge about the two companie' plan to form a join venture.
He said many people had misunderstood cooperation between Pertamina and Medco as being a merger. "There were people who sent me short text messages asking whether Pertamina and Medco were going to merge. I replied that a merger was impossible but the two companies could form a joint venture," he said.
The minister said an agreement between the two companies to set up a joint venture would need prior approval from the State Enterprises Ministry which was the holder of the state's stake in Pertamina.
"It is Pertamina's right to make its corporate plan. They will certainly discuss it first in detail before submitting a proposal to the state enterprises minister," he said.
He said development of gas and oil fields in the world today was in general in the hands of companies that were business entities of states.
"It is possible for Pertamina to set up a joint venture. So, it is free to do so. Shell, for example, is working in partnership with a number of private companies in a number of countries," he added.
"If they (Pertamina and Medco) agree to set up a joint venture to develop new fields, the government will support it," State Enterprises Minister Sofyan Djalil said here on Thursday.
The minister was commenting on the reported possibility of Pertamina and Medco cooperating in the oil and gas upstream sector and operate jointly in international oil and gas field business.
The leaders of the two companies were said to be confident that if they teamed up and formed a joint venture they would be able to compete and develop or operate major oil and gas field blocks overseas.
But Djalil admitted he had no precise knowledge about the two companie' plan to form a join venture.
He said many people had misunderstood cooperation between Pertamina and Medco as being a merger. "There were people who sent me short text messages asking whether Pertamina and Medco were going to merge. I replied that a merger was impossible but the two companies could form a joint venture," he said.
The minister said an agreement between the two companies to set up a joint venture would need prior approval from the State Enterprises Ministry which was the holder of the state's stake in Pertamina.
"It is Pertamina's right to make its corporate plan. They will certainly discuss it first in detail before submitting a proposal to the state enterprises minister," he said.
He said development of gas and oil fields in the world today was in general in the hands of companies that were business entities of states.
"It is possible for Pertamina to set up a joint venture. So, it is free to do so. Shell, for example, is working in partnership with a number of private companies in a number of countries," he added.
