Pertamina?s oil output up 28.28 percent

State-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina saw its oil production in the first semester of this year increased by 28.28 percent from the same period of last year, thanks to additional output from overseas blocks, Investor Daily reported on Thursday.

The paper quoted Pertamina Upstream Director M. Husen as saying that oil production during the first-half of this year reached 254,000 bpd, compared to 198,000 bpd in the first six-month period of last year.

He said that while production at existing fields at home remained relatively the same with output in the first semester of last year, the company obtained additional output from overseas blocks including the 405a block in Algeria and West Qurna-1 block in Iraq.

Meanwhile, Pertamina?s gas production in the first-half of this year reached 1,543 mmscfd, a slight increase from 1,542 mmscfd in the same period of last year.

Nevertheless, the oil production achievement in the first semester of this year was still lower than the company?s original target of 280,200 bpd, the paper said. Gas output reached 97.83 percent of the initial first-half target of 1,568 mmscfd.

Going forward, Pertamina aims to push production of existing fields at home higher. Among of the company?s upstream projects this year are the development of the YY and FSB wells in the North West Java Offshore Block, with expected additional output of 5,300 bpd and 27 mmscfd of gas, and the development of six fields (KE 6/7, 12, 14, 29, 48, and 44) in the West Madura Offshore Block.

Separately, Pertamina Vice President for Corporate Communications, Ali Mundakir said that the company aims to further increase output contribution from overseas assets including from existing blocks and planned acquisition this year. The company hopes to increase production from overseas assets to 59,500 bpd from the current 57,000 bpd this year.

Pertamina Senior Vice President for Upstream Business Development, Denie S. Tampubolon said the company has allocated US$2 billion for acquisitions this year. ?We see opportunities to acquire 4-5 oil and gas blocks this year,? he said, without elaborating on which blocks to be acquired.

He only said that blocks in West Africa and East Africa were quite potential given recent findings, one of which is reserves finding of up to 400 tcf in Mozambique. (*)