STAVANGER, Norway, May 24 (UPI) -- An agreement to take an equity interest in three offshore licenses in Indonesia sets the stage for possible operatorship, Statoil said Tuesday.
Norwegian energy company Statoil announced it will acquire a 40 percent stake in three offshore licenses in Indonesia that will be operated by Niko Resources Ltd., one of the largest non-government landowners in Indonesia and Trinidad.
Statoil said it has the option to become the operator in the development and production phases of the license areas because of its exploration success.
"This is an early access opportunity that adds significant additional acreage to our portfolio," said Pal Haremo, senior vice president for exploration at Statoil, in a statement.
The agreement with Niko is effective from January and exploration drilling is set for later this year. Neither company offered information about the yield potential from the license areas.
Indonesia is the only member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in Southeast Asia, though maturing fields are in part to blame for declining oil production, the U.S. Energy Information Agency notes. Natural gas production, however, is on the rise.
