Pertamina targets jump in output

Pertamina targets jump in output

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

State-owned oil and gas company Pertamina plans to raise its
upstream output, including oil, gas and geothermal steam, by
about 84 percent over the next five years.

It expects to reach a total output of 470,000 barrels of oil
equivalent per day (BOEPD) by 2007, from the estimated 255 BOEPD
next year, according to Pertamina's 2002 year-end report.

The report said oil output was expected to rise 28 percent to
180,000 barrels per day (BPD) in 2007 from 140,000 BPD this year,
while gas output was projected to increase 69 percent to 1,500
million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) from 900 MMCFD and geothermal
steam was to increase by 428 percent to 370 megawatt hours per
day (MWhD) from 70 MWhD.

This year, Pertamina produced 266,933 BOEPD, up from 251,301
BOEPD last year. Oil output stands at 107,035 BPD of oil this
year, while gas output was at 885 MMCFD, and geothermal steam at
29.013 tons per day.

Pertamina predicts a slight drop in its upstream output next
year, as output from old oil fields dwindle. It said output could
drop to 255,000 BOEPD, down 11,000 BOEPD from this year's rate.

A number of new oil discoveries have yet to go on stream in
the absence of exploration spending over the past few years.

Pertamina said on Wednesday it had discovered large oil and
gas deposits at its Gunung Kemala wells in the Muara Enim
district of South Sumatra.

The new deposits may hold about 230 million barrels of oil in
reserves and another 590 billion cubic feet of gas, Pertamina's
local general manager for upstream operations Kun Kurnely told
Antara.

A Pertamina spokesperson added that further drilling would
verify whether the amount matched the initial findings.

Facing a possible decline in oil reserves, Pertamina is
expanding its production base to sites outside of Indonesia.

According to the report, Pertamina will start oil explorations
in the Block-3 western desert area of Iraq next year.

Last year, it also signed a deal with the state oil companies
of Vietnam and Malaysia to work together in seeking new oil
reserves abroad.

Pertamina's drive to increase its reserves comes in the wake
of a new oil and gas law that will end the long-held monopoly
rights of the state company.

At 107,000 BPD in crude oil production, the company accounts
for less than one-tenth of Indonesia's total crude output of 1.2
million BPD. The biggest producer here is American firm PT Caltex
Pacific Indonesia, with an oil output of about 700,000 BPD.

Pertamina will invest about US$3.57 billion in developing its
upstream sector over the next five years.

Pertamina president Baihaki Hakim, at a year-end presentation
on Pertamina's performance earlier this week, said the additional
output would more than double Pertamina's next profit, increasing
it to Rp 21.9 trillion (about $2.43 billion) from about Rp 10
trillion this year.