Pertamina:'06 Crude Output To Hit 170,000 B/D
Pertamina:'06 Crude Output To Hit 170,000 B/D
Deden Sudarajat
Dow Jones/Jakarta
Indonesia's crude oil output will likely rise to 170,000 barrels
per day (bpd) in 2006 from 140,000 bpd in 2005, a senior official
of state oil and gas firm PT Pertamina said on Monday.
The increase will come from higher output, including 18,000
bpd from the launch of Pondok Tengah oil field in Bekasi next
year and increases from the Tambun and Sukowati fields to 6,000
bpd and 15,000 bpd, respectively, in the same period, said
Pertamina's exploration and production director, Kun Kurnelin.
"The increase in output is expected to jack up Pertamina's
profit to Rp 16 trillion (US$1.59 billion) in 2006 from an
expected Rp 11 trillion this year," Kurnelin told reporters.
Indonesia needs to increase its crude output to reverse its
current status as a net oil importer caused by faltering
investment in the oil exploration sector. Indonesia is the sole
Southeast Asian member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries.
The government has set an official target of raising
Indonesia's crude output to 1.3 million bpd by 2009. In October,
the country's crude and condensate output edged up to 1.062
million bpd from 1.053 million bpd in September, below an
official target of 1.075 million bpd.
Investors have fled Indonesia's oil sector in recent years due
to shambolic infrastructure, rampant corruption and perceptions
of an unpredictable judiciary.
Deadlocked negotiations between U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobil
Corp. and Pertamina for a joint operating contract for East
Java's massive Cepu oil field have underlined the difficulties
foreign investors face in the country's oil sector.
Pertamina's President Director Widya Purnama said earlier this
month that talks had stalled and the company had asked President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to intervene in the dispute.
Pertamina will support the projected 2006 output increase with
Rp 8 trillion in investment, Kurnelin said, without elaborating.
He said Indonesia's total natural gas output will rise to
1,300 million standard cubic feet a day in 2006.
Indonesia's OPEC Governor Maizar Rahman said on Monday that
the government will push for the group's members to agree on a
plan that will help push the price of crude on the global market
to below US$50 per barrel, during an OPEC meeting scheduled for
Dec. 12.