Gulf Indonesia?s exploration success continues in Q2

Oil and gas firm Gulf Indonesia Resources Ltd., which is 72 percent owned by U.S.-based Conoco Inc., reported Wednesday significant achievements in the second quarter of 2001.

Gulf said that its ?big-hit? offshore oil exploration program continued in the second quarter of this year resulting in two more discoveries in the Ketapang PSC area (Gulf 50 percent working interest), located offshore East Java. This brings the exploration success of the program to 57 percent.

Gulf said that delineation work on the large Suban gas field in the Corridor PSC continued in the second quarter of 2001, with testing of the Suban-5 and drilling and initial testing of the Suban-6 well.

The results from the Suban-5 and Subang-6 to date provided increased optimism about the overall potential of the field, Gulf said.

?The substantial gas reserves that are being identified at Subang provide the basis to secure new gas sales contracts. A new gas sales contract with Malaysia could add significant growth in proved gas reserves and gas sales beyond what is currently contracted under our four major gas sales agreements,? said Paul C. Warwick, new president and CEO.

Gulf added that it was evaluating the potential for commercial oil production from the second of the two oil wells drilled in the first quarter of 2001 to the delineate the Suban Baru oil accumulation that was located in shallow sands above the large Suban gas reservoir.

In the third quarter, the company plans to commence drilling of the first of five quick-connect onshore oil exploration prospects.

Elsewhere, Gulf also reported progress in negotiations for the supply of natural gas from Sumatra to Malaysia, which would, if successful bring about the fifth substantial U.S. dollar based long-term gas sales agreement for the company; and the decision to repay the entire balance of the Corridor Loan facility on August 8, 2001, five and a half years ahead of the originally scheduled date of February 2007.(*)