JAKARTA (Reuters) - The Indonesian government hopes to have the matter of the operatorship of the Indonesia Deepwater Development (IDD) gas project settled by next month after years of delay, the energy minister said on Friday.
Operator Chevron (NYSE:CVX), which owns a 62% stake, has said it wants to exit the IDD project.
Indonesian officials have said Italy's ENI (BIT:ENI) will take over Chevron's operating interest.
"We hope to have certainty on IDD by July, otherwise we will take another strategy," Energy Minister Arifin Tasrif told reporters.
Asked whether the government is considering terminating the contract, Arifin said the government is "seeking certainty" to ensure long-term energy supply.
Chevron declined to comment.
Eni and its Norwegian unit Var on Friday announced a deal to buy Neptune Energy.
Neptune Energy has an operation in the Kutai Basin off Borneo in Indonesia near the IDD project.
Eni said it sees the Neptune deal "deepening Eni's presence in offshore Indonesia".
ENI did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the IDD.