Chevron to boost presence in Indonesia

The U.S. energy group Chevron Texaco Corporation is looking to increase its presence in Indonesia following this year?s ending of the Coastal Plain Pekanbaru (CPP) oil block contract, the company?s executive said on Wednesday.

?We are looking at everything possible. We are committed to Indonesia,? said Simon P. Lowes, director of new business development for Indonesia at Singapore-based Caltex International.

Chevron?s unit Caltex Pacific Indonesia (CPI) should have ended the CPP contract last August, but it was extended for a year to give Riau and state oil and gas firm Pertamina more time to prepare for the take over of the oil block.

CPI, Indonesia's leading oil producer, is currently producing an average 640,000 barrels per day of crude, accounting for more than half of the country's total oil production.

Lowes said Chevron has a lubricant business and is involved in technology in Indonesia. It is also active in the chemical business in the country, he added.

?We have been here for 50 years. So we will go to wherever the government wants us to support them,? Lowes told Petromindo.com on the sidelines of an oil and gas seminar. (Leo)