Indonesia oil production rises

By Godang Sitompul

Indonesia?s oil production rose 1.6 percent to 840,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the first four months of the year, from 827,000 bpd in the previous period, according to upstream authority SKK Migas.

?The increase was made possible because we could cut cases of production machine breakdown, we could arrest the decline in natural production, the drilling activities could be realized earlier than schedule and some oil projects could be realized,? Rudi Rubiandini, Chairman of SKK Migas, said in a statement on Friday.

The 2013 State Budget sets the national oil production target at 900,000 bpd. But SKK Migas has said the target is unrealistic and thus should be revised down to between 830,000 and 850,000 bpd.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon