Cepu crude to be heavy, sour

Cepu crude to be heavy, sour

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Exxon Mobil Corp. Friday said it will
produce sour crude oil from its Banyu Urip field, in the Cepu
technical assistance contract in East Java, in the first
significant sour crude production from Indonesia.

The crude will be waxy sour crude, with an API of 32, said
Julia Tumengkol, spokeswoman for ExxonMobil Oil Indonesia Inc.

API is a measurement of the weight of crude oils, whereby a
relatively low API indicates a heavy crude and a high API
indicates a lighter grade. 34 API is the midpoint of the range of
crude grades.

Exxon Mobil plans to begin production from the Cepu block at
25,000 barrels a day in 2003, ramping up to 100,000 barrels per
day by 2004, Tumengkol said.

Exxon Mobil is still in negotiations with Indonesia oil
company Pertamina over terms for developing the Cepu block. Exxon
Mobil wants to extend the expiry date of the technical assistance
contract, and Pertamina wants more than a 10 percent stake in the
block, an industry source said.