Pertamina to up investment to Rp 5.9t

Pertamina to up investment to Rp 5.9t

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

State-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina plans to boost
investment this year to Rp 5.9 trillion (US$702 million) from Rp
4.7 trillion in the previous period in a bid to increase oil and
gas production.

The investment target was approved at the company's annual
shareholders meeting on Wednesday.

"Looking ahead, we'll boost our exploration activities. This
is in line with our core business in the oil and gas sector,"
Pertamina finance director Alfred Rohimune told the press.

He also said that Pertamina was targeting a higher profit
after tax of around Rp 5.30 trillion this year, compared to Rp
3.90 trillion last year.

Pertamina is intensifying oil and gas exploration to jack up
output amid growing demand at home. Experts had previously said
that new oil finds are essential if the country is to avoid
becoming a net oil importer in 10 years time.

The country needs new oil discoveries of between 400 million
and 500 million barrels annually, which is the same amount of
crude oil currently produced by the nation each year, according
an estimate from the oil and gas upstream authority, BP Migas.

BP Migas said that as of the end of 2003 Indonesia's proven
and potential oil reserves stood at 9.75 billion barrels, which
at the current rate would be enough to last for 20 years.

Indonesia now produces 1.081 million barrels per day.

Pertamina also needed to intensify its exploitation of aging
oil fields. Such fields normally still contained oil but required
advanced technology for its extraction.