Repsol to sell RI oil wells

Repsol to sell RI oil wells

MADRID (AFP): Spanish oil company Repsol-YPF is planning to
sell off its wells in the Java Sea to Indonesia's Pertamina to
help reduce its heavy debt load, Expansion daily reported
Saturday.

Pertamina has however run into financing difficulties and has
not yet made a firm offer for the wells, valued at about $800
million (868 million euros), Expansion said. The wells produce
some 122,000 barrels a day.

The Spanish oil group needs to reduce its debt, which could
reach 20.7 billion euros by the end of the year, analysts told
Expansion. The debt was largely due to the purchase of YPF of
Argentina in 1999 for $13.158 billion.