ENI to lose exploration contract in Indonesia's Aceh province

ENI, Italy's biggest oil company, will lose an exploration contract in Indonesia because it hasn't filed a plan of development since the license was given in 1999, a government official said. ENI should have developed the Krueng-Mane offshore block in Indonesia's westernmost province of Aceh by now to supply gas to fertilizer plants, Kardaya Warnika, the chairman of Indonesia's oil and gas regulator body, told.
“We will replace them with a more serious operator.”

Declining output from Aceh's Arun gas field run by a unit of ExxonMobil has forced fertilizer plants in the province to cut production. The Krueng-Mane block is one of five contracts ENI holds in Indonesia, according to data from the energy ministry. ENI Krueng-Mane spent $ 19.5 mm on the offshore block, the contract on which expires in 2009.
“There is no certainty about the development of the block,” Kardaya said.