President to inaugurate 13 new oil and gas projects

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled on Friday to inaugurate the operation of 13 new oil and gas projects in the country, some of which have started production activities as early as July, last year.

The projects include the development of 12 new oil fields and a gas pipeline project involving world’s major oil giants such as BP, Total and PetroChina. The value of the projects is estimated to reach up to US$1.2 billion.

Kardaya Warnika, the chairman of BP Migas, the regulator agency for oil and gas production activities, said that the new oil fields were expected to produce about 53,800 barrels per day of crude oil and about 1.53 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day, beginning next year.

He hoped the operation of the new oil fields would further increase the country’s crude oil production which has seen a steady decline during the past several years. The country’s oil production has dropped from about 1.52 million barrels per day in 1999 to about 1.075 million barrels at present. (dino)