Exxon, Pertamina, PetroChina to jointly tap Java field

Exxon, Pertamina, PetroChina to jointly tap Java field
Exxon, Pertamina, PetroChina to jointly tap Java field

Bloomberg, Jakarta

Indonesian oil regulator BPMigas said state oil company PT
Pertamina, PetroChina Co., China's largest oil producer, and
Exxon Mobil Corp. are to jointly operate an East Java oilfield.

BPMigas had ordered Pertamina and PetroChina to stop test
drilling in the Sukowati field because the two companies were
operating without the approval of Exxon Mobil, owner of 85
percent of the area's reserves. Exxon Mobil, the world's largest
publicly traded oil company, today said it does not object to the
two companies operating in the field.

Most of the Sukowati field's reserves, estimated at 26 million
barrels, lie in the Cepu block, owned by Exxon Mobil, while the
remaining 15 percent is in the adjacent Tuban block, which is
jointly owned by Pertamina and PetroChina.

"Starting now, the production at the Sukowati field in Tuban
will be conducted jointly by the three companies," Zanial Achmad,
deputy of planning at BPMigas told reporters in Jakarta.

A formal agreement on how to proceed with drilling should be
drawn up in the next two months. "We'll discuss the split between
the companies later," Zanial said.

The Indonesian government expects Sukowati field, which is
currently producing about 7,000 barrels a day, to produce between
10,000 barrels and 15,000 barrels a day once a formal agreement
between the three companies is in place, Zanial said.