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.