REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - State oil and gas company, Pertamina, cancels its acquisition of 32 percent shares of Petrodelta SA in Venezuela. Pertamina initially planned to spend 725 million USD to acquire the shares from US gas and oil company, Harvest Natural Resources Inc (HNR).
Vice President of Corporate Communication at Pertamina, Ali Mundakir, refused to explain further. "I cannot give the detail," he said on Wednesday.
Chief Executive Officer of Natural Resources, James Edmiston, said Indonesia’s government voted not to approve Pertamina’s purchase of Harvest Natural’s 32 percent stake in the Venezuelan Petrodelta SA joint venture. "Despite our disappointment, Harvest remains committed to exploring other possible alternatives to unlock the potential of our assets and maximize value for shareholders," he said as cited from Bloomberg.
Harvest Natural Resources Inc. dropped the most in more than 23 years after announcing the termination of its planned 725 million USD sale of Venezuelan assets to Indonesia’s state-owned PT Pertamina. Harvest Natural fell 41 percent to 5.45 USD at the close in New York, the most since Dec. 1989
According to Ryder Scott certificate in 2012 the fields managed by Petrodelta contain proven and probable oil reserve in the amount of 486 million barrels, based on US Securities and Exchange Commission. The hydrocarbon reserve on those areas is estimated bigger than that of Cepu, Indonesia, whereas it is the biggest finding in Indonesia for the last ten years.