Caltex says output down to 660,000 bpd: Report

Indonesia's biggest oil producer PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia said on Tuesday output was running at 660,000 barrels per day, down from a forecast 705,000 bpd, because of a range of disruptions.

Reuters reported that Riau operations on the island of Sumatra of the oil giant, jointly owned by Chevron Corp and Texaco Inc, have been hit by a series of disputes with local administrators and workers in the past year.

``We shut three small fields six months ago because we couldn't get in there to operate. We also have fields where we cannot go in and drill wells or develop fields,'' Caltex Indonesia President Humayunbosha told Reuters on the sidelines of an oil conference.

Last year Caltex said it aimed to produce 740,000 bpd in 2001 but later revised that figure.

Caltex accounts for about half the nation's crude oil output.

Earlier this month Caltex said it expected to post revenue losses of around $400 million this year due to security disruptions at its operations in Riau. (*)