Pertamina to develop five new gas wells next year

State owned oil and gas company Pertamina plans to develop another five new gas wells at its gas concessions in West Java, East Java and Sumatra next year in a bid to meet the surge in the gas demand in the domestic market.

?Pertamina will need at least US$1 million for the exploration of each gas well. The exploration activities for each well will take at least three months,? said Bambang Tjiptadi, the head of the exploration division of Pertamina.

He said that the state oil and gas company was currently developing four similar wells in the company?s concession areas in Central Sumatra (suban block), East Java and West Java (Randu Blatung, Kedung Tuban). ?We hope we will be able to find gas in Randu Blatung and Kedung Tuban, part of the concession areas in East Java,? he added.

At present, Pertamina produces about 141,839 barrels of crude oil and 1,092 million cubic feet per day of gas. In 2008, the oil and gas production is expected to increase to 170,318 per barrel and to 1,500 million cubic feet per day. (dino)