Indonesian 2005 crude production lower than targeted: Purnomo

Indonesia, South-East Asia?s biggest crude oil producer, cut its oil production forecast 5.7 per cent to 1.06 million barrels a day this year, after rains disrupted drilling at main fields in Sumatera, Minister of eenergy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said Thursday.

Purnomo said Indonesia would miss its initial target of 1.13 million barrels a day because of a production decline at fields operated by Chevron Corp?s unit PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia, PT Medco Energi Internasional, and state oil company PT Pertamina, Purnomo said in parliamentary hearing.

?Our oil and condensates output will range between 1.06 million and 1.08 barrels a day,? Purnomo said in Jakarta.

?Heavy rains in the first few months of the year have disrupted drillings at Caltex, Medco and CPP fields in central Sumatera that account for 50 per cent of our output.?

Caltex Pacific, the country?s biggest oil producer, may produce 480,000 barrels a day of oil this year, from 485,000 barrels a day last year, Director General of Oil and Gas Iin Arifin Takhyan said.

Oil output from the Coastal Plain Pekanbaru block, operated by Pertamina and a company owned by the Riau provincial government, may fall to 20,000 barrels a day this year, from 35,000 barrels a day last year, he said.

Medco, Indonesia?s biggest publicly-traded oil company, may produce 58,000 barrels a day of oil this year, from 67,000 barrels last year because of declining output at its aging Kaji-Semoga field in South Sumatera, Iin said.(dino)