Purnomo says ExxonMobil?s E. Java gas reserve ?huge?

Minister of energy and mineral resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said on Tuesday that ExxonMobil?s gas reserve in its Cepu technical assistance contract (TAC), East Java -where the company had recently discovered oil reserve in excess of 250 million barrels - was ?huge?.

However, Purnomo, who was speaking on an Indonesian Gas Association function, did not disclose the detail.

An ExxonMobil Oil Indonesia senior official Alan Routh, declined to comment on the issue. However, earlier, in an interview with Petromindo.com, he said that gas reserve in Cepu TAC was ?commercial?.

Meanwhile, a Petromindo source that is familiar with the issue said that ExxonMobil had so far discovered up to1.5 trillion cubic feet of gas in Cepu and the number might increase, as further drilling would be conducted.

Cepu TAC is located in the industrial island of Java, where demand for natural gas is constantly increasing. (alex)