Pertamina EP?s oil production exceeds target

PT Pertamina EP, an upstream unit of state owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina, is producing 125,606 barrels of crude oil per day or about 106 bpd above the target, Koran Tempo reported Tuesday.

Company spokesman M. Harun said that production from its oil fields in Java regions reached 26,873 bpd or 106 percent of the target, the Sukowati field in East Java 23,167 bpd, Sumatra regions 17,050 bpd and EP Limau about 11,387 bpd.

Harun said that the firm's gas production reached 1,040 million cubic feet per day. About 22 percent of the total gas production is supplied to state-owned gas distributor PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN), 22 percent to industrial buyers, 18 percent to fertilizer producers, 18 percent to power plants and the remaining 14 percent used by the firm itself.

Last year, Pertamina EP's profit increased to Rp 19.08 trillion (US$ = Rp 10,400) from Rp 15,16 trillion in 2007. The company contributed 70 percent of Pertamina?s total profit. (*)