U.S. firms dominate RI oil, gas scene

U.S. firms dominate RI oil, gas scene

SINGAPORE (Reuter): U.S. oil companies remain the dominant players on the Indonesian oil and gas scene, accounting for over 50 percent of Indonesia's exploration asset value of US$17.1 billion, Wood Mackenzie Ltd. said.

European oil companies are the next largest grouping with 20 percent of the total base value, followed by the Japanese with 16 percent, the Edinburgh-based consulting firm said.

"When ranked by total value, Mobil remains the clear leader in the Indonesian upstream business, with a base value of some 17 percent of the total Indonesian figure," WoodMac said.

"The majority of Mobil's value is derived from its 100 percent interest in the North Sumatra B Block PSC (production sharing contract) which contains the giant Arun gas field," it said. In value terms, Mobil is just under one and a quarter times the size of the second ranked company, Inpex.

Ranked on remaining commercial reserves, Caltex Pacific Indonesia (CPI) comes out top, though it is only third when measured by total asset value. Caltex is owned by Chevron and Texaco. Indonesia's total commercial reserve has increased by just over one percent over the last year to around 13 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe).

Mobil has less than half the reserves of CPI, but due to the dominance of gas, is ranked first in commercial value.

"The fact that Mobil and Inpex rank higher in value terms than CPI even though the latter currently produces just under half of all Indonesia's liquids and is the largest producer on an oil equivalent basis, clearly illustrates how much better the contract terms are for gas than oil in Indonesia at the present time," WoodMac said.

"Significantly, seven of the top ten companies by value supply gas to the LNG (liquefied natural gas) facilities at either Arun or Badak."

CPI and Mobil are again the top two companies when measured by production. Their total output of oil, natural gas liquids and gas, amounting to 1.1 billion boe, account for almost 44 percent of Indonesia's daily hydrocarbon production.

In terms of acreage, Mobil has the largest portfolio in Indonesia. "This is a function of being involved in a considerable number of licenses as well as holding relatively large interests in most licenses," WoodMac said. It said the giant Natuna D Alpha gas field, held equally by state-run Pertamina and Exxon, has not been included in its review since its development of the field was somewhat tentative.