Novus said discussions with these new bidders are at varying, but preliminary, stages although an Information Memorandum containing background information on the company and its operations has been sent to interested parties.

Publicly listed Indonesian company Medco launched the $326 million as part of a plan to boost production and expand into the Middle East as production from its ageing existing oil fields is expected to drop by around 17% this year.

Novus has a global list of assets of which about 29% of their reserves are in Indonesia and 24% in Oman.

Local producer Santos, which has been touted as the most logical buyer of Novus' assets, and Oil Search are believed to be in bid discussions along with a number of international firms including the state run PetroChina.