Iraq and Indonesia have discussed ways to strengthen cooperation and develop oil relations between state-owned companies in both countries, during an official meeting held in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.
According to a statement from Iraq’s Ministry of Oil, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Oil for Extraction Affairs, Bassem Mohammed Khudair, met with Indonesia’s Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Yuliot Tanjung, as part of an official visit carried out in line with directives from the Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Minister of Oil. The meeting was attended by several Iraqi officials, including the Director General of the Oil Exploration Company, Osama Raouf; the Director General of the Reservoirs and Field Development Department, Karim Yasser; the Director General of the Petroleum Contracts and Licensing Department, Bassem Taher; and the Chargé d’Affaires of the Iraqi Embassy in Indonesia, Ammar Al-Khalidi.
The statement noted that discussions focused on ongoing negotiations with Indonesia’s state-owned energy company, Pertamina, regarding the third exploration block, which extends between the provinces of Najaf and Anbar. The two sides also reviewed available investment opportunities that were not awarded during the supplementary fifth licensing round and the sixth licensing round, in addition to potential prospects in the Arabian Gulf area.
The meeting further addressed mechanisms for developing technical and commercial cooperation between Iraqi state-owned companies, particularly the Oil Exploration Company and the Iraqi Drilling Company, and their Indonesian counterparts.
For his part, Indonesia’s Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources expressed his country’s desire to expand Indonesian investments in Iraq’s oil sector and to increase Pertamina’s participation in developing Iraqi oil fields. He stressed that Indonesia does not wish to limit its involvement to the current 20 percent stake in the West Qurna-1 oil field, which it operates in partnership with PetroChina, highlighting the importance of accelerating the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Iraq to deepen cooperation between national companies.
As part of the visit, the Iraqi delegation toured Pertamina’s headquarters, holding meetings with the company’s vice president and senior management. The visit also included Pertamina’s subsidiary, Nusa, where the delegation reviewed its technical activities and visited its seismic data processing center. Both sides emphasized the importance of enhancing coordination and providing training opportunities to develop Iraqi expertise in relevant oil and technical fields.
