Pertamina Bids $3.5 Billion for Exxon’s Angola Stake, WSJ Says
May 10, 2011, 2:21 AM EDTBy Bloomberg News
May 10 (Bloomberg) -- PT Pertamina bid about $3.5 billion for Exxon Mobil Corp.’s 25 percent stake in an Angolan oil block, surpassing an offer from a Chinese rival, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.
The Indonesian state energy company is holding talks with Exxon on the stake after beating off competition from China Petrochemical Corp., known as Sinopec Group, and India’s Oil & Natural Gas Corp., the newspaper said, citing the person.
The former member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is seeking oil resources to stem a decline in domestic production, while China and India are buying stakes in overseas projects to meet demand in the two fastest-growing major economies. Angola, which vies with Nigeria as Africa’s top oil producer, pumped 1.625 million barrels a day last month.
Hari Karyuliarto, Pertamina’s corporate secretary, didn’t return two telephone calls seeking comment, while Mochamad Harun, vice president of corporate communication, didn’t answer calls to his mobile phone. Sinopec Group’s Beijing-based spokesman Huang Wensheng didn’t answer three calls requesting for comment.
ONGC lost a bid to buy Exxon’s stake in Block 31 in Angola, two people with knowledge of the matter said in March. India’s biggest energy explorer had offered about $2 billion, they said.
BP Plc owns 26.7 percent of the block and is its operator. The other shareholders include Exxon’s Esso unit, with a 25 percent stake, Statoil ASA with 13.3 percent and Marathon Oil Corp. with 10 percent. France’s Total SA sold its 5 percent stake to Hong Kong-based China Sonangol International Holding Ltd., according to the report.
Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest oil producer, turned a net importer after declining output at aging fields led to the country’s withdrawal from OPEC in 2008. Crude production dropped to 769,068 barrels a day in April from 788,497 barrels a day in March, the nation’s oil and gas regulator BPMigas said on May 3.
--Ying Wang, with assistance from Yoga Rusmana in Jakarta. Editors: Ryan Woo, Amit Prakash
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Ying Wang in Beijing at ywang30@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Amit Prakash at aprakash1@bloomberg.net
