YPF-Maxus enjoys big output in SE Sumatra
YPF-Maxus enjoys big output in SE Sumatra
JAKARTA (JP): Oil and gas company YPF-Maxus achieved on
Tuesday a landmark in its operations in the country, reaching a
cumulative output of one billion barrels of crude oil at its
offshore block in Southeast Sumatra.
The general manager of the company, Curtis W. Murray, said the
company was delighted with the achievement and would continue its
commitment to Indonesia despite the economic and political
crises.
"We now look forward to the challenges which lie ahead this
year and beyond. Our current commitment to Indonesia is to
continue searching for and developing natural resources, not only
in this concession block, but we will also continue to look for
investment opportunities in new blocks," Murray said in a speech
read out by the company's vice president for finance planning and
control, Robert Dean Galloway, during the ceremony to mark the
production of the one billionth barrel of oil.
The event was celebrated in a modest ceremony at the company's
base of operations on Pabelokan Island, about 70 kilometers north
of Jakarta.
Minister of Mines and Energy Kuntoro Mangkusubroto and the
president of state oil and gas company Pertamina, Martiono
Hadianto, were scheduled to attend the ceremony but were forced
to cancel because of bad weather.
Murray said the Southeast Sumatra block was currently the
country's largest offshore producer of crude oil with an output
of approximately 150,000 barrels per day (bpd).
Data from Pertamina shows the block is also one of the most
efficient oil blocks with an average oil production cost of
US$3.43 per barrel.
The production sharing contract (PSC) for the 11,044 kilometer
block was signed in 1968 and extended in Sept. 1998 for another
20 years.
The block was originally owned by the Independent Indonesian
American Petroleum Company, but was acquired by the American-
based Maxus in 1987. Maxus was bought by YPF, Argentina's former
state oil and gas company, in 1995. The acquisition led to the
transfer of all of Maxus' properties in Indonesia to YPF.
Today, the block is 45.67 percent owned by YPF-Maxus Southeast
Sumatra.
The remaining shares are owned by Inpex Sumatra Ltd., which
holds 13.06 percent of the block; YPF Sumatera Tenggara B.V. with
10 percent; Cieco Sumatra Inc. with 8.9 percent; Daminex Sumatra
Oil Gmbh, which holds 5 percent; Repsol Exploration Sunda B.V.
with 5 percent; Repsol (Sumatra) Exp. & Prod., which owns 4.8
percent; Warrior International Corp. with 3.7 percent; Paladin UK
(South East Sumatra) Ltd. with 2 percent; and Alberta Ltd., which
holds 1.6 percent.
Production began in 1971 at the block's Cinta oil field, which
currently produces 12,000 bpd.
The company discovered the Intan field in 1987, which today
has an output of 13,000 bpd.
In 1988, it discovered its largest field, Widuri, which
currently produces 95,000 bpd.
The company's district manager for the south, John Sitinjak,
said the block reached its peak production of 250,000 bpd in
1991.
He said the block had proven oil reserves of 400 million
barrels and proven gas reserves of 300 billion cubic feet.
Murray said the company was marketing the block's gas and he
hoped it would be able to transport gas from the block to
customers in Jakarta and West Java starting in late 2001.
Aside from the Southeast Sumatra block, YPF-Maxus also
operates and owns 45 percent of the South Sokang PSC block east
of Natuna Island in the South China Sea.
It also has a 16.7 percent stake in the Blora PSC production
block in Central Java, which is operated by Coparex, and a 25
percent stake in the West Madura PSC block operated by South
Korea's Kodeco. It also holds a 50 percent stake in the Poleng
technical assistance contract offshore block in East Java. (jsk)