Novus? Indonesian oil production down, gas up in Q4 2002

Australian oil and gas company Novus Petroleum Limited announced on Tuesday its Indonesian based operation results during the Oct ? Dec period of 2002. Details of the company?s operation results are as follows:

Novus' Indonesian operation results Oct - Dec 2002

?	Unit	September 2002 Quarter	December 2002 Quarter
?Production	?	?	?
?- Oil	000 barrels	489	465
?- Gas	MMSCF	2,065	2,371
?Sales	?	?	?
?- Oil	000 barrels	259	255
?- Gas	MMSCF	1,993	1,884
?Expenditure	?	?	?
?- Exploration	A$ millions	2.03	0.70
?- Development	A$ millions	4.60	2.02
?- Production cost	A$ millions	6.52	10.16

Novus produces oil from its working interest in Kakap (25 percent), Lematang (15 percent) and Malacca Strait (26.03 percent) production sharing contract (PSC) areas, and gas from Brantas (50 percent), Kakap and Lematang PSCs.

Meanwhile, during the October-December period the company saw a significant increase in production through new development drilling and marketing in Brantras PSC, East Java. Further, the company has sold its working interest in Malacca Strait and Lematang, both located in South Sumatra, for US$13.1 million.

?The increased production of Brantas and the sale of Malacca Strait and Lematang, for a good price, means within Indonesia we have increased our focus on the strong producing assets,? said company managing director Bob Williams in a statement. (robert)