CPC exits oil, gas industry

CPC exits oil, gas industry

HONG KONG (Dow Jones): Taiwan's Chinese Petroleum Corp.
(Q.CPC) has exited Indonesia's upstream oil and gas sector, after
deciding in June to halt exploratory drilling in the Peudada
field in North Sumatra, a CPC spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires
yesterday.

In June, the offshore field, jointly owned by Mobil Corp. of
the U.S. (MOB) and Indonesia's state-owned oil and gas concern
Pertamina was deemed non-commercial and drilling was halted, the
spokesman said.

"We evaluated the Peudada area and we thought that it is a
high-risk area," said the spokesman, although surveys of the
offshore field had found an undisclosed amount of oil and gas.
He denied a local report that CPC's decision was based on fears
over political and social unrest in Indonesia.

The Peudada field was CPC's only investment in Indonesia's
upstream oil and gas sector, the spokesman said, and the
Taiwanese company has no plans at this time to invest in other
upstream activities.