Pertamina, Exxon Mobil to submit Cepu POD

Pertamina and ExxonMobil submit plan of development (POD) for the Cepu oil block to upstrem oil and gas authority BPMIGAS in two weeks, an official said.

"We will submit the plan of development to BP Migas in the second or third week of May," Pertamina EP general manager Estu Bagyo told reporters. Pertamina E&P is an upstream arm of Pertamina.

The Cepu partnership is planning to drill 40 wells, comprising 36 development wells and four exploration wells at the block, he said.

Pertamina and ExxonMobil signed a joint operating agreement for the Cepu block in March, ending a four-year long dispute over who should operate the concession.

Bagyo said they are targeting to begin production by end 2008 or early 2009, with peak output seen at 160,000 barrels per day or nearly 16 pct of Indonesia's current nationwide output.

Cepu is Indonesia's largest oil discovery in the past 30 years. Located in East and Central Java, Cepu's five fields hold estimated reserves of 600 mln barrels of oil and 1.7 trln cubic feet of gas. (godang)