Indonesia - Indonesia's State Oil Co. Eyes 8 Oil Fields for Overseas Exploration

State oil and gas firm Pertamina plans to acquire exploration rights for eight new blocks overseas, a senior executive at a Pertamina subsidiary has said.

The oil blocks under consideration are in “several countries in the Middle East,” as well as Thailand, Burma and Vietnam, Salis Aprilian, president director of Pertamina Hulu Energy, said on Thursday.

He did not specify the locations, but said the blocks had an estimated capacity of at least 29,000 barrels per day (bpd). PHE’s current average production is 62,000 barrels per day.

Salis suggested that the acquisitions would benefit Indonesia. “It would increase Indonesia’s oil reserves, thus improving the country’s energy security,” he said.

PHE has exploration rights for nine oil blocks in seven countries, but only two blocks, one in Malaysia and another in Australia, are currently producing crude oil.

The company has one block in Qatar, one in Sudan, one in Iraq and two in Libya, which were still in the exploration stage when PHE abandoned them last year due to security concerns. It also has a block in Vietnam, also not yet in the production stage.

The parent company, Pertamina, had oil output of 190,000 bpd last year, below its target of 208,000 bpd.

Pertamina’s overall production stood at 465,300 barrels of oil-equivalent per day (boed) last year, a measure that includes gas and condensate. It is expected to reach 532,700 boed this year.

At home, PHE in 2011 was awarded the West Madura offshore block in East Java that had been developed by South Korea’s Kodeco Energy and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation.

Net income at Pertamina rose 47.3 percent to Rp 24.6 trillion ($2.7 billion) last year, while revenue reached Rp 553.5 trillion, up from Rp 417.9 trillion in 2010.

Pertamina has set aside Rp 52.8 trillion for capital expenditures this year, 80 percent of which will be used for its upstream projects.

Indonesia has set its oil production target at 930,000 bpd this year. Oil production was 903,400 bpd last year, less than the 945,000 bpd set in the state budget.

Indonesia is estimated to have 106.2 billion barrels of potential oil reserves, 60 percent of which is located in known offshore basins. Proven oil reserves are estimated at 4.2 billion barrels.

Antara

The Jakarta Post

Business & Investment Opportunities 
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programmes. Many thanks for visiting www.yourvietnamexpert.com and/or contacting us at contact@yourvietnamexpert.com