Government and House agree to increase oil lifting

The government and the House of Representatives eventually agreed to increase the target of oil lifting to 960,000 barrel per day (bpd) in revised state budget 2008 from the initially proposed 910,000 bpd, Kontan Daily reported on Tuesday.

The House deemed it necessary to remind the government of raising the lifting target given that international oil price had surpassed US$100 per barrel and the government had promised to continue subsidizing fuel domestic sales.

Earlier, the government has targeted the country?s oil production to reach 1.034 bpd this year, higher than the 2007 realized output of 912,000 bpd.

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said in January this year that the government also targeted natural gas output to reach 1.169 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), slightly higher than the 2007 realized output of 1.120 boepd. (*)