'Caltex could delay RI becoming net oil importer'
'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)