Pertamina?s oil output reaches 117,000 bpd

State oil and gas company PT Pertamina said that the oil output from its own operations reached 117,000 barrels per day (bpd) up to April 2007, close to the average annual target of 118,000 bpd.

Pertamina?s upstream director Sukusen Soemarinda said in Jakarta on Wednesday that the company might be able to exceed the output target as it had discovered a new layer of oil at its Pondok Tengah field in Bekasi, West Java that could significantly boost the field's output.

?Output at Pondok Tengah could increase to 12,000 bpd from 4,000 bpd at present,? Sukusen said.

Sukusen said Pertamina has targeted to produce an average 155,000 bpd this year from the fields it operates by itself as well as by joint operation partners through the Joint Operation Body (JOB) and Technical Assistance Contract (TAC) schemes. (godang)