British Gas finds gas in RI

British Gas finds gas in RI

LONDON (Reuter): British Gas said yesterday it has made a
natural gas discovery in its Muturi concession, northwest Irian
Jaya, Indonesia.

In a statement, British Gas said cumulative gas flows of 40
million cubic feet a day were recorded at the Mogoi Deep-1 well
in the northwest of the concession. The well was the first
drilled in the concession.

"The result is very encouraging and opens up a new gas play in
the area. We shall now be working to evaluate the reserves and
consider their future development," said David Varney, British
Gas executive director responsible for exploration and
production.

British Gas Exploration and Production has a 50 percent
interest in the concession. Cairns Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary
of Genting Bhd, a Malaysian industrial group, has 45 percent and
PT Saptapetra Wisesa of Indonesia holds the remaining five
percent.