RI plans to boost its oil output by 160,000 bpd
JAKARTA (JP): Within the next two years, Indonesia is expecting to boost its oil output by 160,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), from the development of two large offshore oil fields in the Makassar Straits and West Natuna, state oil and gas company Pertamina said on Thursday.
Pertamina director for the management of production sharing contractors, Iin Arifin Takhyan, said that the new projects would also increase Indonesia's natural gas production by 490 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) and 45,000 barrels of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) per day.
He described the two projects as very important for the Indonesian oil and gas industry.
"The development of the West Seno oil field is Indonesia's first deepwater development project," Iin told reporters at a press meeting.
Located in the Makassar Straits, the West Seno field would produce 60,000 bpd of oil, and is slated for production by the fourth quarter of next year, Iin said.
The field, which is located in water depths of 3,000 feet (1,000 meters), is being developed by PT Unocal Indonesia, a subsidiary of United States energy company Unocal Corp.
Unocal discovered the West Seno field in 1998 in the Makassar Straits, off East Kalimantan.
Thus far, it has invested some US$700 million in exploration drilling and is currently tendering for a floating oil rig and other facilities.
Unocal has a 50 percent stake in contractor's share, with the other half belonging to Mobil Oil Indonesia, a subsidiary of U.S. energy company Mobil Oil Corp..
But a Unocal official said that Unocal planned to take over Mobil Oil's interest, after the latter decided to release its working interest in the field.
He said the plan was subject to Pertamina's approval.
Next to West Seno, Unocal will develop the Merah Besar field of the Kutai basin located in the deep water of the Makassar Straits.
"The West Seno field will also produce some 150 mmcfd," Iin continued.
He said the gas would be transported to the Bontang industrial estate in East Kalimantan.
At Bontang, fertilizer companies like state owned PT Pupuk Kaltim and other plants can utilize the gas.
"The second project is the Belanak oil field, which has a production capacity of 100,000 bpd, and is estimated to start production by the year 2003," Iin went on.
"The field's Floating Production Storage Off-loading (FPSO) facility will be the largest in the world," he said.
He said the off-loading facility would be used to off-load LPG onto tankers. For the Belanak field, he expected LPG production to reach 45,000 barrels per day.
Iin said that the field would also produce gas amounting to 340 mmcfd, which has been earmarked for a gas sales project to Malaysia.
The Belanak field, located in West Natuna, is being developed by Conoco Indonesia Inc., a subsidiary of American energy firm Conoco Inc.
The company is hoping to finalize a gas sales contract with Malaysia's state oil and gas company Petronas by April this year.
The gas will be delivered at a peak rate of 250 mmcfd to Malaysia via an underwater pipeline.
Iin said that Conoco had spent $600 million for the development of the gas field.
The development of the two projects is coming at a time, when the local fuel consumption is rapidly depleting the country's oil reserves.
Analysts have warned that Indonesia might become a net oil importer by the year 2020.
At present the country is importing some of its fuel needs, largely because of its limited oil processing capacity.
Government plans to tender 21 new blocks within the first quarter of this year.
Iin estimated that the government would begin the tender process next month.(bkm)