Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla said in Jakarta Friday that the talks on operating rights for the Natuna D-Alpha gas block between the Indonesian government and U.S. giant oil and gas company Exxon Mobil will begin in January.

"The discussion with Exxon will begin this month," said Kalla.

Indonesia terminated the contract with Exxon to operate the huge Natuna D-Alpha gas block in South China Sea in October, amid high extraction costs and a lack of buyers for the gas.

The company has disagreed on the termination and said the contract allows for two more years.

The Indonesian state-owned oil firm company Pertamina has a 24 percent stake in the Natuna D-alpha block, while Exxon has 76 percent.

The Indonesian government and Exxon Mobil signed a basic agreement in 1995.

The block contains around 222 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas, of which 46 tcf is thought to be commercially recoverable.

However, it contains high degree of carbon dioxide that has made the block expensive to develop.

The Asia Pacific OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) member country is the biggest Liguified Naturan Gas producer.

Source: Xinhua