Belanak field to start production next week
Belanak field to start production next week
Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
U.S. oil and gas company ConocoPhillips will begin production
at its huge floating production facility in the Belanak field in
the South China Sea next month, the Oil and Gas Upstream
Regulatory Body (BP Migas) said on Monday.
Kardaya Warnika, deputy head of BP Migas, said the Belanak
floating production storage and off-loading (FSPO) facility was
expected to produce up to 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude
oil and 30,000 bpd of liquefied petroleum gas.
"The vessel will sail from Batam to the Belanak field in
second week of September. Initial output will be 50,000 bpd and
will rise gradually to 100,000 bpd next year," Kardaya told
reporters after a meeting with President Megawati Soekarnoputri
at the State Palace.
Output from the Belanak field is expected to increase the
country's dwindling crude oil output, Kardaya said.
Indonesia is now producing 1.072 million bpd of crude, below
its quota of 1.27 million bpd set by the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Country (OPEC).
President Megawati is scheduled officially to launch the
floating unit. At 300 meters in length and 60 meters in width, or
the size of three soccer fields, the Belanak FPSO is one of the
largest floating production facilities in the world.
William J. Bullock of ConocoPhillips Indonesia said the
company had invested a total of US$800 million for the floating
facility, which was built in China.
Bullock said the company planned to increase its investment by
20 percent to $300 million next year from $250 million this year.
"We continue to be excited about investment in Indonesia and
the contract that we just concluded with PGN is a good indication
of that commitment," Bullock said.
ConocoPhillips recently signed a $4.3 billion gas sales
agreement with publicly listed state gas distribution company PT
Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN).
Under the agreement, ConocoPhillips will supply 2.3 trillion
cubic feet of gas from its Corridor Block in Grissik, South
Sumatra, via PGN's pipeline to West Java consumers.
ConocoPhillips has net crude oil production of 15,000 bpd, or
4 percent of oil produced in Indonesia so far in 2004. It also
produces 248 million standard cubic feet per day of gas, or 8
percent of Indonesia's natural gas output.