ConocoPhillips' Belanak oil field to commence production Dec

Indonesian upstream oil, gas authority BP Migas, said on Wednesday it expect ConocoPhillips to start crude production from its offshore Belanak field in December, Reuters reported.

"The development of the Belanak oil field is fine so far. We expect Belanak will start production in December," deputy chief of BP Migas, Trijana Kartoatmodjo, told reporters.

A mines and energy official, who declined to be identified, said initial production would be 10,000 barrels per day (bpd), rising to around 40,000 bpd next year.

The field is located in West Natuna, in the South China Sea. It plans to use a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) platform.

ConocoPhillips currently produces about 38,000 bpd of oil from other fields in Indonesia, an industry source said.

Officials from the firm could not be reached for comment.

Indonesia is encouraging foreign oil contractors to boost production. Many oil fields in Indonesia are ageing.

Indonesia's crude oil production rose slightly to 986,000 barrels per day in February from 982,000 in January. Condensate output rose to 139,000 bpd in February from 135,000 bpd in January.

Indonesia, Asia's only OPEC member, has a quota of 1.27 million bpd in the cartel. Condensate is not included. (*)