China Keen On Increasing Investment In Oil And Gas Sector

Beijing (Antara Bali) - China is still keen on increasing its investment in the oil and gas sector in Indonesia, an Indonesian official said.

The Chinese wanted to build small liquefied natural gas plants, produce oil and gas drilling pipes and shipyards to support  oil and gas industry, a deputy of the Oil and Gas Regulator (SKK Migas) Parulian Sihotang said here on Wednesday night.

Parulian led an SKK delegation  was on a visit here with the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) to audit a number of Chinese oil and gas companies  operating in Indonesia.

"We also met with leaders of a number of oil and gas companies  and energy  institutions such as  China National Offshore Oil Corporation/CNOOC, Petro China Company/CNPC  and Sinopec," he said.

Most  participants in a meeting attended by representatives of 28 companies, expressed interest in investing in Indonesia, he said.

"This certainly is positive. We also told the Chinese that Indonesia has a new  paradigm  that oil and gas explorations are concentrated  more in the eastern region of the country," he said.

Parulian said SKK Migas would soon coordinate with the Capital Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) to facilitate  the Chinese investors .

A number of Chinese companies already invested  in the country's oil and gas sector such as CNOOC which conducted  oil and gas  explorations in Tangguh , Papua  and  PetroChina which invested in  and developed oil fields  Jabung  and  Bangko (Jambi), Salawati (Papua)  and Tuban  in East Java.

Meanwhile,  Sinopec is known  with its investment in renewable energy  and oil processing refining infrastructure.

Sinopec has project to process jetropha curcas  and palm oil into fuel in  Papua  and East Kalimantan. (WDY)