JAKARTA, April 12 (UPI) -- Eni SpA has assured the Indonesian government it is in the country to stay.
After meeting with Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik, Eni SpA CEO Paolo Scaroni told journalists in the capital Jakarta, "Eni has been in Indonesia since 2001. We see other companies leaving Indonesia as an opportunity. Our biggest discovery in Indonesia, which is Jangkrik Northeast offshore gas field (located in Muara Bakau block, Makassar Strait), is in a block relinquished by another company," The Jakarta Post reported on Friday.
Eni SpA is hoping to reach 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of gas from the Jangkrik field within three years, and managing director of ENI Indonesia Carlo Russo said the firm would invest $400 million in the next four years for it exploration in Indonesia.
The news is welcome for the Indonesian government, as earlier this year, U.S.-based companies ExxonMobil, Marathon and Hess all decided to return their bloc concessions at the Makassar Strait after deeming the basins uneconomic.
