Talks on East Natuna oil block set to drag on

The government had previously targeted the signing to occur by September. However, the consortium – made up of state-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina, the local unit of US oil and gas giant ExxonMobil, and Thailand’s PTTEP – submitted their official proposal for the terms and conditions only three weeks ago, according to ExxonMobil Indonesia’s vice president for public and government affairs, Erwin Maryoto.
Erwin said that both parties were now discussing the impending PSC in a general sense, involving both oil and gas reserves.
“The consortium itself has already agreed upon the split scheme and location we want,” he said.
The East Natuna block, formerly known as D-Alpha, is located in the Riau Islands. With a total proven reserve of 46 trillion cubic feet (tcf ) of gas it is one of Asia’s largest gas reserves.
Meanwhile, Chubb Life Insurance Vietnam has officially launched its universal Future Asset Management Product, a long-term and disciplined financial planning tool.
General director Lam Hai Tuan said the product is targeted at family-oriented customers who have strong commitment to accumulate their wealth and to attain comprehensive financial protection.
Different from other products available in the Vietnam market, there is no allocation fees charged for the main insured, which in the first contract year is as high as 65 per cent of the premium.
Customers are eligible for a special bonus added to their policy account value, which can go up to 12 per cent of their average account value of the first 10 years, or up to 18 per cent of the average account value of the preceding 10 years in the 20th year.