?Investment in oil, gas sector will increase by 15% next year?

Investment in the country?s oil and gas sector is projected to increase next year by around 15 percent, according to Rachmat Sudibyo, head of BP Migas, Indonesia?s highest oil and gas authority.

He said that the higher investment would be mainly driven by development of new oil and gas fields amid newly found reserves.

He added that among of the new fields to be developed in the near future included the Tiaka field in the Senoro Toili block (off the coast of Toili Luwuk in Central Sulawesi), and the Pase ?B? block in North Aceh.

Rachmat admitted that investment in the oil and gas sector in 2002 was slightly lower than the US$3.944 billion made in 2001.

As of September this year, realized investment only reached $3.418 billion. Experts have said that massive security disturbances had discouraged new investment.(Godang)

Table: Oil and gas investment in Indonesia (in million U.S. dollar)

	2000		2001		2002
	Plan	Realization	Plan	Realization	Plan	Realization*
Exploration	820	428	890	361	211	149
Development	883	583	1,155	754	1,071	927
Production cost	3,017	2,442	2,891	2,448	1,921	1,676
Administration cost	465	477	506	381	507	666
Total	5,185	3,930	5,442	3,944	3,710	3,418

Source: BP-Migas.

*) As of September 2002