Chevron will reoperate Riau's Langgak oil field

The provincial government of Riau will return the Langgak oil field to its former operator Chevron Pacific Indonesia (CPI) due to the continuing conflicts between the provincial administration and regency administration about the ownership of the oil field , Antara news agency reported on Tuesday.

Eddy Saputra, the deputy chief of the mining department at Riau province, said that the internal conflicts had hampered the operation of the Langgak oil block, which is also known as the Mountain Front Block. "That is why we have decided to return it back to CPI," he said.

The Mouantain Front Block, part of the Mountain Front Kuantan, is located in areas shared by the regencies of Rokan Hulu and Kampar, while the other part, the Kuantan block occupies areas belonged to regencies of Indragiri Hulu, Indragiri Hilir and Pelalawan.

The government took over the oil block from CPI last year after its contract to operate the oil block ended in January, 2005. The government planned to auction the oil block for further development but it later decided to delay the auction due to the internal conflicts within the provincial administration about the ownership of the oil block.

CPI operated the oil block comprising of 28 wells since 1996 with production level of about 500 barrels per day. (*)