INTERVIEW: Gulf Indonesia sees exploration expansion to continue

Oil and gas contractor Gulf Indonesia Resources said it would continue to look for opportunities to expand upstream business in Indonesia, but ruled out the possibility of boosting portfolio through acquisition of developed oil and gas fields.

Gulf Indonesia President and CEO Paul C. Warwick told Petromindo.Com in an interview last week that the company is still searching for new prospective exploration blocks.

?Last year alone we farm-in Coparex?s exploration block in Banyumas, Central Java and become the operator of Sakakemang exploration block in South Sumatra. We are looking forward to identify new exploration blocks that could sustain our presence in the long term,? said Warwick.

?It must be noted that Gulf Indonesia is a small company compared to other oil majors. We have limited resources and would like to concentrate the resources where we are really good at.?

Warwick said the company would focus to generate its growth by exploring into new areas and would not engage itself in taking over developed oil and gas fields.

?We are not, for example, going to bid on assets where we are going head-to-head with other competitors,? he said.

Warwick said the fact that its parent company Gulf Canada Resources had been acquired by Conoco Inc. did not change Gulf Indonesia?s bottomline and growth strategy because both companies are still operating as different entities.

Warwick said that Gulf has set some criteria for exploration expansion.

?For example, we are not going to get involved in deepsea exploration. We?re not big enough for that.?

?We will only go to some areas where we can put together our expertise and minimize our risk. We are going to be very selective about where we are going and spend money on explorations.?

He said currently Gulf Indonesia is evaluating the possibility of acquiring new exploration blocks, including in East and Central Java.

Warwick added that the company most likely would not go to Eastern Indonesia for exploration in the short term.

?I?m not saying that we are not going to explore there some day but now, we don?t understand the area well enough and we would need a long time to get the understanding,? he said.

Gulf Indonesia is currently the largest non-LNG gas producer in Indonesia with production around 42,000 BOEPD. The company operates several oil and gas blocks that span from North Sumatra to East Java, including Kakap block offshore West Natuna that sell gas to Singapore and giant Corridor block in South Sumatra which will also supply gas to Singapore starting 2003.

Warwick said the companies will double its output in 2005 after gas sales to Singapore and Batam peaks. (alex)