Indonesia remains a net oil exporter, Purnomo says
Indonesia remains a net oil exporter, Purnomo says
Bloomberg, Darwin
Indonesia remains a net exporter of oil and may increase output as companies including Exxon Mobil Corp., Santos Ltd. and ConocoPhillips develop fields, Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said.
"If those fields are able to meet their targets, so we are confident Indonesia will be increasing its oil production in the near future," Purnomo said in an address to open the South East Asia Australia Offshore Conference in Darwin, Australia.
The country is exporting between 500,000 and 600,000 barrels a day and importing between 350,000 and 400,000 barrels a day, Purnomo told reporters before his speech.
Production of oil and condensates may rise to about 1.4 million barrels a day by 2010 from about 1.1 million barrels a day now, according to a graph presented during his speech.
In April, a panel set up by Purnomo recommended that Indonesia should become an "observer" in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to avoid paying US$1 million a year in membership fees as declining crude oil production and rising fuel demand cuts exports.
Crude oil output excluding condensates in Indonesia, Southeast Asia's only OPEC member, has fallen 5 percent annually during the last five years to less than 1 million barrels a day. For four months of last year, the country was a net importer.
Current reserves of 9 billion barrels are enough to maintain production for 18 years, Purnomo said. The nation's total oil resources that remain to be explored and proven up are estimated at 86.9 billion barrels, he said.
"The 18 years means if the government of the Republic of Indonesia does nothing, does not conduct the exploration activities, then in 18 years the oil reserves of Indonesia are going to be depleted," Purnomo said.
The Cepu field in Java may produce as much as 170,000 barrels a day within one or two years provided Indonesia resolves a dispute with Exxon Mobil that has stalled development.
Santos's Jeruk field may produce at least 50,000 barrels a day, Purnomo said, adding that the estimate is "pessimistic."
Unocal Corp.'s West Seno field off East Kalimantan may produce 27,000 barrels a day. ConocoPhillips's Belanak field may produce 50,000 barrels a day. PetroChina Co. may boost output by 25,000 barrels a day and PT Pertamina, the state oil company, may add 31,000 barrels a day.
Gas production may rise to 12 billion cubic feet a day by 2010 from 8 billion cubic feet a day now. Indonesia's third liquefied natural gas project, Tangguh, led by BP Plc, will help increase the nation's LNG output to between 30 and 35 million metric tons a year, Purnomo said.
The first venture, PT Arun NGL, will terminate in 2016 as its gas reserves deplete.
Total investment in the oil and gas industry will rise to about $8 billion in 2005 from $7.5 billion in 2004, helped by opening 70 oil and gas areas, or blocks, for exploration this year.
The minister repeated his call for OPEC, source of 40 percent of the world's oil, to maintain or boost output when the producer-group meets on June 15.
"We would expect that OPEC will not cut production," Purnomo told reporters before his speech. "At least we hope that OPEC would maintain production or even increase production. We don't want to give the wrong signal to the market to cut production because the demand is strong."
Indonesia wants its official price, known as the Indonesian Crude Price, to be between $40 and $45 a barrel, Purnomo said.
Indonesia is one of four OPEC members not meeting their quotas, according to Bloomberg data.