ARCO appraisal almost finished

ARCO appraisal almost finished

SINGAPORE (Reuter): Atlantic Richfield Co (ARCO) aims to complete an appraisal program at its Irian Jaya gas field by the end of 1997, ARCO Asia Inc President Roger Truitt said yesterday.

Truitt declined to reveal the level of reserves the company estimated were contained in the gas field -- the Wiriagar and Berau blocks in Bituni Bay.

But he told Reuters in an interview in Singapore the company was hopeful it would be able to build at least two liquefied natural gas (LNG) production lines producing six million tons of LNG each year from the find.

"We're optimistic we will be able to do that," he said. The find has been the center of much industry interest, coming hot on the heels of the larger Natuna gas field in the Natuna Sea, 135 miles northeast of Natuna Island, which has estimated recoverable reserves of 46 trillion cubic feet.

Truitt said the Irian Jaya find was not in Natuna's league and the projects should not be compared.

The rest of the appraisal program for the Irian Jaya find would include three further appraisal wells following the eight drilled so far.

He said a statement on Irian Jaya's full appraisal could be made at the end of the year, but it would only be done in conjunction with the partners in the field and Indonesia's state- owned oil company Pertamina.

ARCO holds 80 percent of the Wiriagar field. Japan's Kanematsu Corp [8020.T] holds the remaining 20 percent.

ARCO holds a 40-percent stake in the Berau block, Kanematsu 12 percent, Occidental Petroleum Co 22.86 percent and Nippon Oil 17.14 percent.

Arco is searching throughout Asia for potential new exploration and production deals. Apart from Irian Jaya, its major Asian investment is the would be the Yacheng 13-1 natural gas project in China which produces 3.4 billion cubic metres of gas.

But ARCO also has a 20-percent interest in the 135,000 barrels-per-day Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Co [1128.HK], one of the largest refineries in China.

Truitt said Arco was exploring further investments in Asia, both upstream and downstream, but he declined to give any details.

"We are looking basically everywhere in Asia. We have confidence in the growth and the resources are here to develop," Truitt said.