Jakarta - The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has claimed that investment in the oil and gas upstream sector in Indonesia is still attractive for global investors.

"Many international firms have entered Indonesia, and one of them is Neptune Energy in the West Ganal block (Makassar Strait offshore)," the ministry's Director of Oil and Gas Upstream Business, Mustafid Gunawan, said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

A consortium of Eni Indonesia Limited - PT Pertamina (Persero) - Neptune Energy West Ganal B.V. has won the tender for the exploration of the block.

Separately, he said, British Petroleum (BP) has also planned to conduct exploration in open space.

"BP is discussing a survey outside the oil and gas working area; a change in commitment is still in progress. This will need huge funds," he said.

The transparent data on Indonesia's oil and gas has become one factor behind the increased interest to invest in the sector, after the issuance of the Ministerial Regulation no. 7/2019 on the management of natural gas and oil data.

Gunawan said investors can access and process the data in accordance with the ministerial regulation. An investor would have to register as a member and pay fees before he/she can access the data.

"We will set the fee. As long as they are members, they will get the data. If not, they can only access basic information. Many investors are keen on getting the data," he remarked.

In 2020, Gunawan said the ministry will auction 12 working areas of oil and gas blocks.

"In 2020, we prepared a working area bidding and a scheme in terms of technical, whether it will be cost recovery or a gross split. It will be imposed openly depending on the evaluation," Gunawan said.

The working areas in the auction are 10 conventional oil and gas blocks and two non-conventional blocks.

Previously, a spokesman of the ministry, Agung Pribadi, said the government believes that the regulation would invite many investors in the upstream oil and gas sector.

The government has opened to all stakeholders access to data on Indonesian oil and gas.

Investors can register as members and pay fees to access data packages on the working area bidding. While non-members would only get access to general data, basic data, processed data and interpreted data have passed the confidentiality period.

"When we introduced the application to oil and gas contractors, they admitted that the application on oil and gas data has been very useful to them," Pribadi said. (ANTARA)