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.