Indonesia Expects Total to Decide on Mahakam within days

 French oil firm Total  will decide how much interest it will retain from 2018 in Indonesia's offshore Mahakam oil and gas block over the next two days, the country's energy minister said on Friday.

From Jan. 1, 2018, state energy company Pertamina will take over as operator of Indonesia's top gas producing field from Total. But it is not yet clear how Total and other partner Japan's Inpex, will split the 30 percent stake that Indonesia has proposed they share.

"Inpex has said they are ready to continue no matter what portion (they get)," Energy Minister Sudirman Said told reporters.

(Reporting by Jakarta bureau; Writing by Fergus Jensen; Editing by Tom Hogue)