Pertamina now the major stakeholder in France’s Maurel & Prom

Pertamina International Exploration and Production (PIEP), the upstream business unit of Indonesia’s state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina, has successfully acquired more shares in France’s second-biggest oil company, Maurel & Prom.

Starting February 1, PIEP will control 125.9 million stocks and voting rights at Maurel& Prom, increasing its ownership from 24.53% to a 64.46% holding stake and 63.35% of the voting rights in the French oil company, according to a statement released by the Indonesian company.

Pertamina’s winning bid was announced by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF).

Pertamina’s President Director Dwi Soetjipto said the success of the bid should create a momentum for the company to expand more aggressively overseas amid improving global crude oil prices.

Increasing its ownership to more than 51% and now being Maurel & Prom’s controlling shareholder, Pertamina will now be able to further consolidate the French company’s production with PIEP’s own production.

“It will certainly improve Pertamina’s own performance. In addition, ISC (Integrated Supply Chain) is currently also reviewing and preparing oil production which will not only increase Pertamina’s production value, but also strengthen the supply to Indonesia,” Dwi said.

ISC is Pertamina’s new vehicle for buying oil, replacing the controversial Petral.

Pertamina’s upstream production director Syamsu Alam said the company sees bright prospects in developing Maurel and Prom, which has up to 205 million barrels of oil equivalent among its oil and gas assets.

With assets spread across Europe, America, Africa and Asia, Pertamina now expects to catch up soon with other oil producers on a global scale.

Pertamina Vice President of Corporate Communication WiandaPusponegoro said they now expect maximum results for PIEP and Pertamina from the purchase of Maurel & Prom.