'Caltex could delay RI becoming net oil importer'

JAKARTA (JP): PT Caltex Indonesia, the biggest oil producer in Indonesia, said yesterday it could delay Indonesia becoming a net oil importer by eight years by using new technologies.

"Caltex will be able to exploit more oil with new technologies and we are optimistic the country shall not become a net importer oil before 2015," the company's corporate public affairs vice president Untung Suryanto said at the launch of the firm's new logo.

The Edinburgh-based consulting firm, Wood MacKenzie, predicted last year Indonesia's oil production and consumption would be equal at 1,200 million barrel a day by the end of 2007.

After that Indonesia would become a net oil importer.

Indonesia produces 1.6 million barrels of oil a day and consumes 800,000 barrels a day.

Untung said Caltex produced 758,000 barrels of oil a day from its oil fields in Riau, North Sumatra, Aceh, West Sumatra, South Sulawesi. The fields have reserves for 28 billion barrels of oil.

He said with conventional technology Caltex could exploit only 25 percent of the reserves.

But "with new technologies like enhanced oil recovery technology, three-dimension technology and four dimension technology, we can exploit up to 50 percent of them," he said.

New technologies meant Caltex could produce 8.1 billion barrels over 60 years compared to seven billion barrels with current technologies.

Caltex is owned equally by two giant U.S. oil companies, Chevron Corporation and Texaco Corporation.

It has a contract to exploit its oil fields until 2021. Under the production sharing contract 90 percent of the oil goes to the Indonesian government and it keeps the rest.

Untung said the company was exploring for oil and gas on Nias island and off Sibolga.

"We shall make the first drilling there this year to find out if the location has oil and gas," he said.

Untung said Caltex's sister company, Caltex Petroleum Corporation, had set up a joint venture to operate a lube blending plant in Medan.

The plant will be 40 percent owned by state oil and gas company Pertamina, 30 percent by Caltex and 30 percent by PT Andalas Nusamas.

The US$40-million plant will produce 50,000 kiloliters of lube a year when it starts commercial production in two years.

Logo

Untung announced it would have a new logo as of this month.

The logo was designed by Landor of the U.S. after surveying 75,000 people in 60 countries.

Caltex has allocated US$500 million to design and change all its logos throughout the world, he said.

Untung said the new logo symbolized the company's dynamism, professionalism, quality and efficiency. It also reflected the firm's vision and dedication to progress.

Caltex first changed its logo 25 years ago, when it dropped the solid star in a circle used since 1952. It then adopted the split star in a circle. (jsk)