Amerada's Ujung Pangkah field to begin production by the end of this year

After years of preparation, the Ujung Pangkah field in Madura, East Java is expected to be able to begin production by the end of this year, BP Migas, the oil and gas regulatory body, said as reported by Koran Tempo daily Saturday.

The head of BP Migas, Kardaya Warnika said in Jakarta Friday that the natural gas to be produced from the Ujung Pangkah field would be processed into liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in order to support the government's program to replace the use of the highly subsidized kerosene with LPG.

He estimated the gas from Ujung Pangkah field could be processed into LPG with capacity of about 20,000 tons a year.

Ujung Pangkah field is part of The Pangkah PSC operated by US oil firm Amerada Hess.

In Dec 2004, Amerada has signed a 20 years gas supply contract with state-owned electricity firm PT PLN for the supply of 100 million cubic feet per day (gross) gas from the block?s Ujung Pangkah field which is estimated to have a gas reserve of about 440 billion cubic feet.

Amerada Hess holds a 78 percent working interest in the Pangkah PSC, while the remaining is held by ConocoPhillips. (*)