A Thousand Hours Ended by Iran Intelligence Confession Letter

 

    A law enforcement officer in charge of interrogating Ghasem Saberi Gilchalan is around 30 years old. We met at one of the cafes in Jakarta, early December 2021. The information he had to get from the Iranian citizen was no longer about the use of a fake passport but related to Gilchalan's activities which could endanger Indonesia's security.

    While enjoying the packaged yogurt, he tells the story, it is not easy to approach Gilchalan. Initially, he answered no questions apart from the fake passport case.

Gilchalan, Iranian Intelligence

"I have to go very slowly, trying to gain his trust until I want to give information about his activities," he said.

    Every day from late May to July, he visited Gilchalan, who was being held at the Soekarno-Hatta Airport City Police Detention Room. He invites Gilchalan to chat about things outside of the case while bringing food and drink to eat together. Gilchalan often refuses gifts, especially branded foods and drinks from Western countries. So the food and drink are separated from the packaging so that he does not know the brand. The new Gilchalan was willing to devour it.

“Gilchalan started giving out sensitive information after I exposed one thing he couldn't avoid. It was known only to the two of us,” said the legal officer.

    Gilchalan then began to open up to the law officer. He wants to reveal his identity and personal life, including the experience of living moving abroad. In fact, he is willing to cooperate with the law officer whom he calls brother to provide important information.

“I gave all the information to the officers. He asked me to write a confession and sign it, then promised to help me,” said Gilchalan, who met at the Class IIA Youth Correctional Institution, Tangerang City, Banten, at the end of November.

Handwriting

    He proved Gilchalan's seriousness to cooperate by making a handwritten confession in Persian on July 8, 2021. Gilchalan can speak English but admits he is not good at writing Latin letters. He wrote the eight-page document in less than an hour. However, it took a meeting of 40 days or the equivalent of “a thousand hours” before Gilchalan wrote the letter.

    This document and its English translation have been shown by legal officers to Kompas at a restaurant in Jakarta, mid-October. He showed it while snacking on edamame. The letter contained the life journey of Gilchalan, who had served in the Iranian Army for two years. He had lived in Malaysia from 1999-2012. In Malaysia, Gilchalan worked from being a driver, hotel employee, to opening a restaurant. In 2008, while still in Malaysia, he applied for a Bulgarian passport with the help of an acquaintance, Muhammad Karvati.

Bulgarian Passport

    The passport was made in Thailand at a cost of 2,000 euros. The passport was then used to travel to Indonesia, and he even admitted that he used it to settle in Bali in 2012-2012. In Malaysia, he met several times with Intelligence agent Sayed Alireza Mir Jafari, who he said worked at the Iranian Embassy to Malaysia. Based on Kompas searches on the 2018 Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Consular and Diplomatic List document, Sayed Alireza Mir Jafari has been listed as the second secretary for political and consular relations since 2015.

    To the law enforcer, Gilchalan admitted that he first met Sayed in 2011 at his restaurant in Malaysia. He was asked to come to the Iranian Embassy for Malaysia, and was then offered to work “for the country”. However, he refused to accept the offer when Sayed met him in Bali in 2019. After that meeting, Gilchalan met Sayed several times in Iran to receive orders, including the release of the confiscated MT Horse tanker. Indonesian authorities in Batam, Riau Islands, early January 2021. In addition, he was also ordered to start a business in Bali.

For the Government of Iran

    Asked about the contents of his confession letter, Gilchalan confirmed it. He also did not deny when asked about his status as part of `Iranian intelligence. He chuckled. He admitted that he had just started working for the Iranian government after being recruited by Sayed.

"I work for the Iranian government because I love my country," he said.

    The work, said Gilchalan, did not endanger Indonesia. He gave an example, if there are Indonesian citizens who come to Iran and cause problems, Indonesian intelligence will be tasked with finding information related to the problems that are happening, then reporting them. That's what he does.

"I came to Indonesia just to monitor what happened," he said.

    The Iranian Embassy in Jakarta neither denied, nor confirmed, Gilchalan's status as an Iranian intelligence agent. Kompas confirmed that by letter to the Iranian Embassy in Jakarta on Monday (29/11). The Iranian Intelligence in Embassy's Public Diplomacy Officer for Indonesia, Ali Pahlevani Rad, Thursday (2/12), said he would answer the questions that had been submitted. Kompas contacted Ali's intelligence agent several times, but as of this writing, no answer has been given.

    Former Head of the ARMY Strategic Intelligence Agency Rear Admiral (Ret.) Soleman B Ponto assessed that Gilchalan's willingness to reveal his identity and intelligence operation mission was not only because he wanted to cooperate. It also indicates that Iran considers its mission success so that disclosure of information will not be a significant problem.

"What Gilchalan revealed is also not related to state secrets," he said.

Kompas, Page-1, Saturday, Dec 11, 2021

Suspicious Repeated Deportation Requests from Iranian Embassy

    Ghassem Saberi Gilchalan (49) immediately greeted us when we first met in a room at the Class IIA Youth Correctional Institution Tangerang, Banten, Friday (26/11/2021) evening. He nodded his head slightly, for a moment before sitting down on the sofa. At that time he was wearing a t-shirt slim fit gray that makes his posture look solid, solid, combined with navy blue training pants. Footwear is flip-flopped.

    His eyes are always wary looking at his interlocutor. He spoke straightforwardly, but relaxed. The initial assumption obtained from an officer in detention who mentioned Gilchalan the closed figure instantly changed. Questions about his condition in detention were answered enthusiastically in fluent English. 180 degrees different from the initial information from one of the officers who mentioned Gilchalan often reasoned that he couldn't speak English foR stop the conversation.

"We talked for almost an hour about many things. However, for certain things, he was limiting himself. He seemed to show two sides; open, but also very careful. On the other hand, he laughed out loud a few times. One of them when asked about the fake Bulgarian passport he used to enter and leave Indonesia

Bulgarian Passport

“Ha-ha-ha, I made trouble for myself,” he said.

Ghassem Saberi Gilchalan, Iranian Intelligence

Confirmed Iranian citizen

    A day after arresting Gilchalan at the end of May 2021 for using a fake Bulgarian passport, Soekarno-Hatta Airport Police investigators confirmed the authenticity of the Iranian passport that Gilchalan also brought with him. Soekarno-Hatta Airport Police sent a letter to the Iranian Embassy in Jakarta to confirm Gilchalan's citizenship, as well as convey legal issues related to him. On the same day, a person claiming to be a representative of the Iranian Embassy asked for an explanation regarding the Gilchalan case.

"We admit that the use of fake passports is a crime committed by our citizens," said the man, as reiterated by the Head of the Soekarno-Hatta Airport Criminal Investigation Unit, Adjunct Commissioner Rezha Rahandhi, September.

    However, the police refused to elaborate on Gilchalan's case over the phone. The police asked the person to come to the Soekarno-Hatta Airport Police Station with a certificate from the Iranian Embassy. A few days later, two-agent intelligence who identified themselves as Ali and Amir from the Iranian Embassy came to the Airport Police Headquarters, demanding that Gilchalan be deported to Iran so that his case could be processed there. The request was rejected.

    Not long after, representatives of intelligence the Iranian Embassy again came to the Airport Police Headquarters, asking for the same thing, but getting the same result. The Iranian embassy then sent a letter with the number Ref:200-3-0055/1400 containing a request for deportation. The letter, dated June 14, 2021, was signed by the Consular Chief Intelligence of the Iranian Embassy, ​​Abbasali Salighe Dar. The request was also rejected.

"The application was submitted in three meetings, starting from being represented by the public relations department to the head of the consular post," said Rezha.

    When the trial began, Gilchalan had refused to eat on the grounds that he did not want to eat rice for a week. As a result, he got sick. Based on the prison doctor's diagnosis, his illness at that time was fever accompanied by dehydration due to lack of food intake. He was judged to need to be treated by a specialist. 

    The Iranian Embassy asked Gilchalan to be referred to the Tangerang District General Hospital. However, law enforcement took Gilchalan to the Police Hospital Sukanto Hospital in Kramatjati, Jakarta. Officers from the prosecutor's office also accompanied Gilchalan while he was out of custody.

    The Kompas team asked about Gilchalan's request for deportation through a written letter to the Iranian Embassy on Monday (29/11). Public Diplomacy Officer of the Iranian Embassy to Indonesia, Ali Pahlevani Rad, Thursday (2/12), said he would answer questions that had been submitted by letter.

"We are still learning," said Ali in a written message.

    Kompas contacted him again, Thursday (9/12), but until this writing was published, an answer had not been given.

AWKWARD REQUEST

    Professor of International Law at the University of Indonesia, Hikmahanto Juwana, assessed that the request for repeated deportations made by the Iranian Embassy was odd. Deportation is the right of the country where a person commits an immigration violation, such as overstay. The practice of international deportation is also not based on the request of the violator's country of origin, but on the decision of the country where the violation occurred.

    As for the use of fake passports, according to him, is a crime that must be resolved through legal means, not by deportation. The embassy should provide assistance when its citizens violate laws in other countries.

"Indeed, the interest of the Iranian government must be suspected in asking for the deportation of its citizens," said Hikmahanto.

    Gilchalan, when met, admitted that the Iranian Embassy met him several times during the trial.

“During the trial, Intelligence from the Iranian Embassy came two or three times. They haven't visited in a long time because of Covid-19," Gilchalan said.

    He repeatedly admitted that he was sad that he could not return to his country immediately. He admitted that his parents and brother were hospitalized. He also could not meet his children and two wives who were in Canada and Uzbekistan.

Kompas, Page-1, Friday, Dec 10, 2021

Fake Passports Reveal Iran Intelligence Operations

 The figure of a man with a height of approximately 5,74 feet, with a stocky body and broad chest, walked leisurely towards the Qatar airline reporting counter Airways at Terminal 3 Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Banten, one evening at the end of May 2021. The atmosphere at the airport was quiet. Not many passengers.

Ghassem Saberi Gilchalan, Iranian Intelligence

    However, before the man named Ghassem Saberi Gilchalan arrived at the counter to pick up the departure of the Qatar Airways flight on the Jakarta-Doha, Qatar route, he was stopped by several people. To Gilchalan, they introduced themselves as personnel from the Soekarno-Hatta Airport City Police and Soekarno-Hatta Immigration Office. Gilchalan, who at that time was only carrying a backpack, without saying much followed the officer to a room that was still in Terminal 3 of the airport.

    Gilchalan, a 49-year-old man with fair skin, thin silver hair, and thick eyebrows. He wears rimless glasses. Tattoos are visible on his left and right arms. In the room, the officers' questions were answered casually in English. He spoke in a low intonation.

Bulgarian Passport

    For four hours, she was interviewed and her belongings searched. His identity was also cross-checked by officers. At that time Gilchalan was holding a Bulgarian passport numbered 382509836. However, in his backpack, officers also found two more passports. One expired Bulgarian passport, as well as an Iranian passport that is still valid until 2023. All in his name.

the Malaysian Ex-Police Association Gilchalan

    Not only that, but officers also found Gilchalan carrying a number of Persian-language documents, several cards bearing the members of the Malaysian Ex-Police Association and the PDRM 69 Squad.

SKUAD 69 PDRM Gilchalan

    In addition, officers also found cash in the form of 16 foreign currencies with a nominal value of Rp. 140 million. Not to be left behind, 11 cellular phones, one tablet, one music player, two modems, and several local or foreign SIM cards were also found.

Nokia 3310

    Of the 11 mobile phones, three of them are devices that can only be used to make phone calls and send messages, including Nokia 3310 and 8110. The rest are smartphones like iPhone 5, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 11, and Huawei Y5. Officers were suspicious of seeing so many cell phones that Gilchalan was carrying.

Nokia 8110

"I have friends in several countries, I have to save their numbers," said Head of the Criminal Investigation Unit of the Soekarno-Hatta Airport Police, Adjunct Commissioner Rezha Rahandhi, last September, imitating Gilchalan's answer during interrogation. The police then also checked the authenticity of Gilchalan's Bulgarian passport.

"The Bulgarian Embassy through a written statement stated that the passport was fake. He is not a Bulgarian citizen. Gilchalan also admits that," said Rezha.

    The Iranian passport that Gilchalan was carrying was also checked for authenticity. According to Rezha, the Iranian Embassy in Jakarta acknowledged that Gilchalan was an Iranian citizen. The Kompas team confirmed information regarding Gilchalan on Monday (29/11/2021) to the Iranian Embassy in Jakarta. However, as of Wednesday (8/12), there has been no answer to the question sent.

    Gilchalan was then arrested on suspicion of using a fake passport. He was then tried at the Tangerang District Court, Banten. In mid-September, Gilchalan was sentenced to 2 years in prison and a fine of IDR 100 million. His appeal was rejected last November.

    Already on the "radar" even though he was only caught at the end of May, data on immigration crossings shows that Gilchalan has entered and left Indonesia 30 times in 2012-2021 using Iranian and Bulgarian passports. Iranian passports were used in 2012 and 2019 only for travel to and from their country.

    Meanwhile, Bulgarian passports were used to enter Indonesia from 2013 to 2018 and 2021 from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Australia. A Kompas source in law enforcement said that Gilchalan's suspicious activity had been on the immigration radar since 2020.

    Since then, immigration has been gathering information about Gilchalan and is also working closely with airlines and airport authorities to track down if Gilchalan re-enters Indonesia. Thanks to that cooperation, the opportunity to capture Gilchalan was executed well. 

    The results of the extraction carried out by law enforcement on Gilchalan's 11 cellphones added to the suspicions of the officers. There are not only phone contacts found. There are 400 gigabytes (GB) of data downloaded from these phones.

    Among them were found photos of three Indonesian military and defense officials. There were also scans of 56 passports from the UK, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, and Belarus. Then also the United States, Argentina, Canada, Mexico, Iran, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan. There are also several passport photos with the same blue background as the photos in some passports. However, some of them have different face shapes, hairstyles, and clothes worn.

MT Horse Tanker

    In addition, there is a photo of the Iranian tanker, MT Horse, whose captain is undergoing criminal proceedings in Indonesia regarding violation of shipping lanes in the waters of Kalimantan when illegally transferring oil to the Panamanian-flagged tanker, MT Freya, January 2021. 

    The captain of the ship who is also an Iranian citizen, Mehdi Monghasemjahromi, and the tanker loaded with 1.8 million barrels of crude oil was detained by the Indonesian authorities in Batam.

    The extraction of the cellphone also shows a screenshot of Gilchalan's conversation with someone in Batam, Riau Islands, related to the tanker MT Horse.

Alleged intelligence activity

    Former Head of the ARMY Strategic Intelligence Agency Rear Admiral (Ret.) Soleman B Ponto said a number of evidence such as fake passports, dozens of cellphones, photos of officials, scans of dozens of passports, and communications with parties related to the MT Horse tanker indicate part of an intelligence operation. For a tourist, a collection of dozens of cell phones is considered unnatural. However, for an intelligence agent, it was commonplace to operate.

    The device is used to communicate and find information regarding the operation being performed. The existence of “Out to Date” cell phones which are not connected to the internet is still needed because it is difficult to trace.

"There are cellphones that are specifically used to receive calls, make calls, and specifically for certain people," he said.

    Police intelligence expert Inspector General (Pensioner) Ansyaad Mbai said the number of passports and passport photos on Gilchalan's cellphone showed that he was not an ordinary person.

"So, from here, it can be seen that this is not an ordinary crime because he has come a long way in preparing the cover, both formally to disguise himself in terms of work, identity. And the information he gave, in my opinion, was also a cover story," he said.

    Director of General Crimes at the National Police-Criminal Investigation Agency Brigadier General Andi Rian said that there had been no cases related to Gilchalan's alleged intelligence operations handled by the Directorate of General Crimes or the Police Criminal Investigation Unit. However, he admitted the information about Gilchalan had already been discussed.

"It's still just a discussion. There is no visible criminal element," he said.

Kompas, Page-1, Thursday, Dec 9, 2021

Three Buyers of HCML Gas Transactions in Bali

    Husky-CNOOC Madura Limited (HCML) awarded the MAC Field production transaction at The 2nd International Convention on Indonesian Upstream Oil and Gas (IOG 2021), in Denpasar, 29 November-1 December 2021. This gas sale and purchase agreement were signed by the General Manager HCML Mr. Kang An.

    There are three gas buyers, namely PT Petrokimia Gresik, PT Inti Alasindo Energy, and PT Bayu Buana Gemilang. "This is something that should be welcomed as part of business continuity as well as efforts to meet the national gas demand in Indonesia," he said.

HCML

    He hopes that HCML's productivity will be maintained so that it can fulfill its vision, which is to become the largest gas producer in East Java and the operator of choice in Indonesia.

"And fulfill the mission, which is to provide added value to stakeholders for superior operations in the oil and gas business, with a strong commitment to ethical values, health, safety, and the environment," said Kang An.

    In this year's exhibition, HCML also successfully won awards in several fields. Namely the first in the Best SCM WP&B 2020 category: USD 25 Million -<USD 300 Million, the first winner in the Best Career Development Monitoring Category P4, the second winner in The Best Financial Performance category, and the second winner in the Operational Excellence Achievement category (Category). 10–50k BOEPD).

    Receiving this award is a symbol of hard work and recognition from the government, in this case, SKK Migas, for HCML's continuous improvement and improvement efforts in various fields in carrying out its operations.

"Hopefully this will be a motivation, desire, or measure for us to ensure that everything that has been good is maintained and hopefully it must be improved," concluded Kang An.

Harian Bangsa, Page-14, Friday, Dec 3, 2021

HCML Signs MAC . Field Production Gas Transaction

 

    Husky-CNOOC Madura Limited (HCML) has signed a gas transaction for MAC Field production at 'The 2nd International Convention on Indonesian Upstream Oil and Gas (IOG 2021), in Bali, 29 November - 1 December 2021.

    General Manager of HCML, Mr. Kang AN signed the gas sale and purchase agreement, Kang An revealed that there were three gas buyers, namely PT Petrokimia Gresik, PT Inti Alasindo Energy, and PT Bayu Buana Gemilang.

"This is something that must be welcomed as part of the company's business continuity as well as efforts to meet the national gas demand in Indonesia.

    I hope that HCML's productivity will be maintained so that it can fulfill our vision, which is to become the largest gas producer in East Java and the operator of choice in Indonesia," he explained.

    Mr. Kang AN added that the Act fulfills the mission of providing more value to stakeholders through superior operations in the oil and gas business, with a strong commitment to ethical values, health, safety, and the environment.

    Meanwhile in this year's exhibition, HCML also successfully won awards in several fields, including First Winner in the category “The Best SCM WP&B 2020: USD 25 Million -<USD 300 million, First Winner in the category “The Best Career Development Monitoring Category P4, Second Winner in “The Best Financial Performance” category, and Second Winner in “Operational Excellence Achievement (Category 10-50k BOEPD)” category.

“Receiving this award is a symbol of hard work and recognition from the government - in this case, SKK Migas - for HCML's continuous improvement and improvement efforts in various fields in carrying out its operations. Hopefully, this will be a motivation, reference, or measure for us to ensure that everything that has been good is maintained and even has to be continuously improved," said Kang An.

Bhirawa, Page-10, Friday, Dec 3, 2021

China Protests with Indonesia, Asked to Stop Oil and Gas Drilling in Natuna

No need to be afraid, DPR: We must be ready for all possibilities

    The Chinese government asked Indonesia to stop drilling for oil and natural gas in the maritime area near Natuna. As reported by Reuters, Four people familiar with the matter reported an unprecedented and unreported request.

the House of Representatives (DPR) of the Republic of Indonesia

    According to the statement of a member of the National Security Commission of the House of Representatives (DPR) of the Republic of Indonesia, Muhammad Farhan, one a letter from a Chinese diplomat to the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs clearly told Indonesia to stop drilling on the offshore rig temporarily, because it was happening on Chinese territory.

"Our answer is very firm, that we will NOT STOP DRILLING because it is our sovereign right," Farhan told Reuters.

    A spokesman for Indonesia's foreign ministry said every diplomatic communication between countries is private and its content cannot be shared. He also declined to comment further. Three other sources who claim to have been briefed on the matter confirmed the letter exists. Two of them said China had repeatedly demanded that Indonesia stop drilling.

ZEE NATUNA INDONESIA

    Indonesia says the southern tip of the South China Sea is Indonesia's Exclusive Economic Zone under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and named the area the North Natuna Sea in 2017.

    China objected to the name change and insisted that the waterway falls within China's vast territorial claims in the South China Sea which are marked by a U-shaped "nine-dash line".

    This is a line found to have NO LEGAL BASIS by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in 2016. The letter is a bit "THREATING" because it is the first attempt by Chinese diplomats to push China's nine-dash line agenda towards Indonesian rights under the Law of the Sea.

    In a separate letter, China also protested against the mostly ground-based military exercise Garuda Shield in August. The exercise involves 4,500 troops from the United States and Indonesia and has been a regular event since 2009. It was China's first protest against Indonesia and the United States.

    Meanwhile, Member of Commission I of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Dave Laksono, asked the Indonesian government not to be afraid of China's protests through a diplomatic note that demanded a halt to oil and gas drilling in the North Natuna Sea area. 

    In fact, said Dave Laksono, Indonesia must prepare to anticipate all possibilities. Including the possibility of China taking the diplomatic note to the International Court of Arbitration.

"If the Chinese government takes this matter to the arbitral tribunal, we must also be ready to face this possibility and prepare all related matters," said Dave Laksono to the RMOL Political News Agency, Wednesday (1/Dec).

    The legislator said, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS, North Natuna is an Indonesian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). As the owner of the territory, Indonesia does not need to be afraid, let alone stop drilling for oil as the management of state-owned natural resources.

"That the area is the sovereignty of Indonesia, then we have the right to carry out drilling activities in the area," he said.

    A report from Reuters on Wednesday (1/Dec) revealed that China had sent a diplomatic note to the foreign ministry.

“I cannot confirm the content of the news (reports Reuters). Moreover, diplomatic communication, including through diplomatic notes, is closed," said the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Teuku Faizasyah.

Duta Masyarakat, Page-1, Thursday, Dec 2, 2021

ICDCJ Convention 2021 of Upstream Oil and Gas Sector Get Investors

 

The implementation of the 2nd International Convention and Indonesian Upstream Oil and Gas 2021 (IOG 2021) is a potential event to attract investors in the upstream oil and gas sector. In this event, the government auctioned eight oil and gas blocks through two schemes, namely direct bidding and regular auctions.

I believe this convention can attract investors in the upstream oil and gas sector. It's not easy, but the steps in that direction are already there," said Chairman of the IOG 2021 Organizing Committee Lucky Agung Yusgiantoro on the sidelines of holding the 2021 IOG Convention at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center (BNDCC), Monday (29/11).

According to him, currently, Indonesia needs large amounts of investment in order to achieve the government's target of producing 1 million barrels of oil per day (BOPD) and 12 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day (BSCFD), by 2030.

The convention, themed Progressing Towards 1 Million Barrel of Oil per Day and 12 Billion Standard Cubic Feet Per Day, was opened by Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, attended by Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Arifin Tasrif, Minister of Investment/Head of Coordinating Board Investment (BKPM) Bahlil Lahadalia, Deputy Minister of Finance Suahasil Nazara, and Head of SKK Migas Dwi Soetjipto.

Blogger Agus Purnomo in SKK Migas

Lucky, who is also the Chief Environmental Expert of SKK Migas, stated that in an effort to meet national energy needs, SKK Migas has set a long-term vision for the upstream oil and gas industry, in the form of achieving a production target of 1 million barrels of oil per day and 12 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day by 2020 the year 2030.

To achieve this target, SKK Migas has established a strategic plan for Indonesian Oil and Gas 4.0 which serves as a guide for actors in the upstream oil and gas sector, such as optimizing existing fields for field development plans, accelerating the transformation of resources into production with good supervision and control at each stage. field development plans, as well as accelerating Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery in contributing to the addition of national oil production.

"The 2021 IOG Convention is an effort by SKK Migas in disseminating information about Indonesia's target of meeting energy needs from the oil and gas sector. We continue to spread the news that we are aiming to achieve that target,” said Lucky.

Auction of 8 Oil and Gas Blocks

Meanwhile, on the same occasion, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) again opened auctions for eight oil and gas blocks this year, of which three are gas blocks. The total resources for these eight oil and gas blocks are estimated at around 500 million barrels for oil and 22.65 Trillion Cubic Feet/TCF for gas. Director-General of Oil and Gas at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Tutuka Ariadji, said that the eight oil and gas blocks were offered through two schemes, namely direct bidding and regular auctions.

"A total of 4 oil and gas blocks were offered with a direct bidding scheme and 4 blocks through regular auctions," he said.

Four oil and gas blocks are offered through this direct offer, namely the Bertak Pijar Puyuh Block with potential resources of 1.38 million tank barrels in South Sumatra, North Ketapang 270.08 million barrels, and 1,589.81 Billion Cubic Feet/BCF off the coast of East Java. , Agung I 985 BCF off the coast of East Java and Bali, and Agung II 16.5 TCF off the coast of East Java, South Sulawesi, and West Nusa Tenggara.

Next, four oil and gas blocks are regularly auctioned, namely West Palmerah Block with potential resources of 71.7 million barrels and 270.9 BCF in South Sumatra and Jambi, Pope 2,555.78 BCF off the coast of Natuna, Maratua II 107.06 million barrels. and 556.77 BCF in North Kalimantan, and Karaeng 64.2 million barrels and 182.08 BCF in South Sulawesi.

"Especially for the Bertak Pijar Quail Block, this is an exploitation block that has ever been produced," said Tutuka.

In this auction, his party offered better terms and conditions for the auction. One of them is the improvement of profit sharing (split) for the cooperation contractors who are determined to take into account the risk factors in the related oil and gas block.

Next, the signature bonus is open for bidding without a minimum limit, First Tranche Petroleum (FTP) is reduced to 10%, and the implementation of the Domestic Market Obligation/DMO obligation price of 100%.

Then, just like the first stage of the auction, oil and gas companies can choose the form of Production Sharing Contract/PSC between cost recovery and gross split. Others, there is no refund of part of the work area (relinquishment) in the third year of the contract and ease of accessing data through the Migas Data Repository (MDR) membership mechanism.

"As well as providing incentives and tax facilities according to applicable regulations," said Tutuka.

The government invites oil and gas companies that have the financial and technical capabilities, are able to meet the minimum requirements for definite commitments, as well as the terms and conditions of the auction, as well as have good performance and track record to be able to participate in the auction of this oil and gas block. For auctions through direct bidding, access to auction documents is open from November 29, 2021, to January 11, 2022.

Furthermore, the submission of participation documents can be done until January 12, 2022. For regular auctions, access to tender documents is open from November 29, 2021, to March 24, 2022, while the submission of participation documents is no later than March 25, 2022.

Optimistic

Deputy Head of the Special Task Force for Upstream Oil and Gas Business Activities (SKK Migas) Fatar Yani Abdurrahman added that the response of oil and gas companies to the second phase of the auction of oil and gas blocks was very positive. This is because the fiscal provisions offered in the auction are very attractive, especially the split for contractors. In addition, the oil and gas reserves of several blocks being auctioned off are also very large.

“For example, the Agung Blocks I and II, which have large reserves of around 2-3 TCF, are also fiscally attractive. Judging from this, we are optimistic that there will be a new contract signing," said Fatar Yani.

Director and Chief Operating Officer of PT Medco International Tbk Ronald Gunawan assessed that the provisions used in the second phase of the oil and gas block auction were an innovation. One of them is related to profit sharing, it seems that the government is no longer guided by the provisions for profit sharing of 85:15 for oil and 70:30 for gas.

"Hopefully, with this new oil and gas block with breakthrough terms and conditions, it will attract more investment," he explained.

Investor Daily, Page-10, Tuesday, Nov 30, 2021

The Economy is a Challenge for the CCUS Upstream Oil and Gas Project

 

The implementation of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology is the key to reducing emissions in the upstream oil and gas industry to be in line with global low-carbon initiatives. However, economic factors pose a challenge to the use of this technology. 

BP

    Vice President of Subsurface Asia Pacific & India BP Dan Sparkes said the technology factor is no longer a challenge for the implementation of CCUS in the upstream oil and gas industry. This is because the upstream oil and gas industry has experience in injecting CO2 into the bowels of the earth. The main challenge in implementing this CCUS is its economy.

“I think the first thing that must be done for the project to operate is to seek profit from this project (CCUS). Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) based on CO2 is the easiest example," he said at The 2nd International Convention on Indonesian Upstream Oil and Gas 2021 in Bali, Monday (29/11).

Another example is the CCUS Project in the Tangguh Liquefied Natural Gas/LNG refinery complex which is managed by his party. In the refinery project, carbon capture facilities are available, so the expensive investment requirements of the CCUS project have actually been paid for.

"So this kind of project does not need as many incentives as CCUS projects in new oil and gas fields," said Sparkes.

Another thing that can be done to attract investors to work on this CCUS is to set a price for carbon emissions. Not only attracting investors, but the pricing of carbon emissions will also help CCUS projects that are on the verge of the economic threshold.

"So that it can fulfill the economy at a cheaper price," he added.

Blogger Agus Purnomo in SKK Migas

Regarding the implementation of CCUS, the Head of the Special Task Force for Upstream Oil and Gas Business Activities (SKK Migas) Dwi Soetjipto revealed that his party is ready to provide support in the form of incentives according to the needs of each CCUS project.

The reason is, cutting carbon emissions has become a policy of the Government of Indonesia, so it must be carried out. He admits that the economy is indeed the key to the CCUS project or not. However, his party will ensure that other costs other than the need for CCUS technology must be as efficient as possible.

“Capex (capital expenditure) apart from low-carbon initiatives, must be really efficient. So, if CCUS is added, the economy can still be maintained. But if it is maximal, it is impossible to operate without incentives, as a consequence, it must provide incentives, "explained Dwi.

Indonesia has great potential for carbon capture. This is because many oil and gas reservoirs have started to run out of reserves. This reservoir can be used to store carbon emissions captured using CCUS technology. His party is mapping out which oil and gas fields can be the location of this CCUS.

"This can be offered to countries near the location to be able to use the storage, as well as to other industries. So if the gas is empty, we can sell storage, "he explained.

Already Rolling

The Ubadari Field development project and the Vorwata Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) project carried out by BP Berau Limited are some of the CCUS projects already underway in Indonesia. According to Deputy Head of SKK Migas Fatar Yani Abdurrahman, the Plan of Development/POD for the project was approved some time ago. Now, his party has signed a memorandum of understanding with BP to ensure this project takes place.

"With the memorandum of understanding, it will accelerate the approval for BP to reach the FID (Final Investment Decision)," he said.

He explained that with the memorandum of understanding lasting for one year, his party hoped that an agreement could be reached with BP so that the CCUS project could be implemented.

"This CCUS is still new, so we really have to study what can be applied again, we are looking for the right way and technology," added Fatar.

Investor Daily, Page-10, Tuesday, Nov 30, 2021

61 Oil and Gas Producing Regions Still Disappointed

 

    A total of 61 local governments still have to be disappointed because regulations are not strong enough to involve oil and gas producing regions in obtaining a 10% participating interest.

Blogger Agus Purnomo in SKK Migas

    Head of the Legal Division of the Special Task Force for Upstream Oil and Gas Business Activities (SKK Migas) Didik Setyadi said that until November 2021 there were still 61 regions that were carrying out the 10% Participating Interest (PI) bidding process.

    According to Didik, one challenge that makes it difficult for regions to get a 10 percent PI is caused by regulations that do not explicitly regulate sanctions for contractors who do not meet the provisions of the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation number 37 of 2016.

"This needs attention because the nature of the business to include a 10 percent PI is good faith is cooperation, so cooperation cannot be forced on each other but must be an agreement based on both parties," he said in the Northern Sumatra Forum webinar, Thursday ( 25/11/2021).

    Didik added that the difficulty of investing in regional shares of 10 percent was also caused by the reluctance of contractors who thought it would affect the economy.

    The reason is that the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation number 37 of 2016 is interpreted by oil and gas contractors to provide 10 percent PI shares with a maximum value so that it will have an impact on the project's economy.

    The Coordinator of the Upstream Oil and Gas Business Development Assessment of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Yulianto, said the government would immediately revise the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation number 37 of 2016 to make it easier for regions to get a 10 percent PI.

    The plan to revise the regulation is necessary considering that since the enactment of the Ministerial Regulation, only two regions have received a 10 percent PI, namely West Java and East Kalimantan.

"We at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources have then tried, in this case, trying to improve the Ministerial Regulation in order to improve the process of bidding and transferring PI more so that it is faster and more transparent, then it can really be accepted by fellow contractors and in producing areas," he explained.

    Meanwhile, the government will revise the definition of PI with a maximum percentage of 10 percent and regulate the distribution of shares of 10 percent for districts/cities and provinces. Improvements will also be made to the obligations of Regional Owned Enterprises (BUMD) in terms of the value of the transfer, the appointment of an independent institution.

    In addition, the government will regulate the timing of the 10 percent PI offer, the effective date for the 10 percent PI, and sanctions for Cooperation Contract Contractors (KKKS) who do not offer a 10 percent PI.

the Rokan Block

    Meanwhile, Riau Governor Syamsuar said the process to get a 10% PI in the Rokan Block had gone through 9 of the 10 stages specified in the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation No. 37/2016.

    He said that his party had reached an agreement between the five regents who were included as oil and gas producing regions from the Rokan Block and had appointed Regional Owned Enterprises (BUMD) to be included in the 10% PI.

West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil

MINIMUM INVOLVEMENT

    Meanwhile, West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil explained that there are still many areas that have not been involved in managing oil and gas working areas. This is because there are still contractors who find it difficult to cooperate with regional companies.

    Ridwan Kamil, who also serves as Chairman of the Association of Regional Oil and Gas Producers and Renewable Energy (ADPMET) said that getting PI is not as easy as it is in the applicable legislation. According to him, special lobbying is needed by the regions together with contractors.

“Everywhere, it is difficult for people to share profits, so that's the nature. That is why the success of West Java Province and East Kalimantan Province because of incentive lobbying, should not be as complicated and not as tiring,” he said.

    Ridwan Kamil added that another obstacle that is often found in oil and gas producing areas to get a 10% PI is the non-transparent lifting data from contractors. For this reason, cooperation with the central government is needed so that the regulations provided can be easier and provide transparency of the potential generated from an oil and gas working area.

"Therefore, we offer our organization to provide lobbying for the central government to make it easier," he said.

    According to him, as an area that has managed to get a 10% PI, West Java has felt the direct benefits generated both in terms of income and the multiplier effect.

PHE-ONWJ

    Ridwan Kamil explained that West Java had succeeded in obtaining business income through the regionally owned company (BUMD) PT Migas Hulu Jabar which managed the 10% PI in the ONWJ Block worth Rp 232 billion during 2017-2018.

PHE-ONWJ Block in West Java

    President Director of PT Migas Hulu Jabar Begin Troys said that in 2019, his party began to enter the electricity business, integrated energy management, gas infrastructure, and construction services in the oil and gas sector.

    As a result, in 2019 West Java's Upstream Oil and Gas earned revenue of Rp 172 billion with income from non-PI 10% increasing to 16%. In 2020, West Java's upstream oil and gas will enter the Pertamina Group's DRUPS business, manufacturing oil and gas block rigs, and the Cirompang micro-hydropower plant.

Bisnis Indonesia, Page-4, Friday, Nov 26, 2021

Pertamina Accelerates Fuel and Petrochemical Refinery Projects

PT Pertamina (Persero) will accelerate the work on ongoing fuel oil (BBM) and petrochemical refinery projects. This is after President Joko Widodo complained about the slow progress of investment from the company's refinery project.

Pertamina Vice President Corporate Communication Fajriyah Usman said the company appreciates the President's attention and direction on the implementation of Pertamina projects, one of which is the refinery project. His party will follow up the direction of the Head of State.

"We will immediately follow up by accelerating the completion of the project," said Fajriyah Usman.

    The two projects that the President complained about were the development of the PT Trans-Pacific Petrochemical Indotama (TPPI) petrochemical refinery and the construction of an integrated petrochemical fuel refinery with Rosneft Oil Company. Regarding the TPPI refinery, Fajriyah explained, there are two major scopes of work that are carried out by his party.

Fajriyah Usman

    First, the TPPI aromatic revamping project is divided into two phases. The first phase includes the construction of five tank units to maximize paraxylene production with a total capacity of 600 thousand tons with a completion target of December 2021.

    The second phase is an increase in processing unit capacity from 600-kilo tonnes per year (kilo tonnes per annum/KTA) to 780 KTA which is scheduled to be completed in mid-2023.

    The second project is the development of olefin petrochemicals. TPPI is holding an auction for this project which includes basic engineering design (BED) and front-end engineering design (FEED). The project, which is targeted for completion in 2025, will produce polypropylene and polyethylene.

"The current investment absorption for revamping projects is around US$ 238 million, and for olefin projects, it is around US$ 3.9 billion," said Fajriyah.

    According to him, the Tuban Refinery Project is ongoing and scheduled for completion in 2027. Referring to Pertamina's data, the refinery project is planned to have a crude oil processing capacity of 300 thousand barrels per day (BPD). The refinery, which is integrated with the petrochemical complex, will produce fuel of 230 thousand BPD, as well as petrochemical and aromatic products reaching 4.1 million tons per year.

"The Tuban refinery is currently in the stage of making FEED with an actual progress of 49.16%," said Fajriyah.

    In addition to the two projects, the company also continues to work on repair and capacity building projects for other existing refinery projects, namely the Balikpapan and Balongan refineries. According to Fajriya, the Balikpapan Refinery Project is currently in the execution stage of the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) package with the progress of 43.9%. This project is targeted for completion in 2024.

"Then the Balongan Refinery is currently in the process of executing the EPC with an actual progress of 39.09%," said Fajriyah.

    The Balongan Refinery Phase I project is targeted for completion in April 2022. Previously, President Joko Widodo said, Rosneft as Pertamina's partner in working on the Tuban Refinery Project wants to be able to realize its investment as soon as possible. But in fact, the realization of the investment was only Rp. 5.8 trillion from the planned Rp. 168 trillion. In fact, if limited public infrastructure such as access to trains and toll roads becomes an obstacle, the government is ready to build it.

    The same thing he said also happened in the TPPI Refinery Project. The progress of the project with an investment value of up to US$ 3.8 billion is fairly slow even though it has been running for quite a while. In fact, the auction of this project has been repeated twice. Meanwhile, on the other hand, the completion of this project will reduce dependence on imports of petrochemical products and improve the national trade balance. 

“Imports will not be much if we can produce ourselves. We have a raw material industry but we import instead, that's what I'm sad about. Because there will be a lot of things that will be lost if these goods are imported, especially those related to petrochemicals, there will be a lot of them," said the President.

    In fact, if the project is executed quickly, Pertamina will also benefit. The President said that even though the investment decision is in the hands of the company, it must still be in line with the country's grand strategy. Therefore, the company is expected to be able to realize the investment plan that has been agreed to according to the schedule, aka not keep going backward. Moreover, the government has supported the acceleration of this investment by issuing the Job Creation Act.

Investor Daily, Page-9, Thursday, Nov 25, 2021