RELEASE: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono officially opens the first FPSO facility in Indonesia

JAKARTA, October 29, 2004 ? The President of the Republic of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, officially opened the Belanak Field Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility in a ceremony at the State Palace today. The facility will be used to provide support for operational activities in the Belanak Field in the Block B working area in the South Natuna Sea.

The FPSO facility, which is 285 meters long and 60 meters wide, is one of the largest of its kind in the world since it has the capacity to process more than 100,000 barrels of oil and condensate per day, to store one million barrels of oil (12 tankers) and to process up to 430 million cubic feet of gas per day. It is anticipated that the establishment of this facility will constitute a prime mover in government efforts to raise oil output above one million barrels per day.

Attempts to increase national oil production are important because at the present time revenue from the oil and gas sector is very much needed to support the nation?s finances. Over the last few years Indonesia?s output of oil has declined because of the increasing age of the majority of existing production fields. Nevertheless, the oil and gas sector will maintain its role so that its contribution to national development funds will continue to reach 25-30 percent.

ConocoPhillips Indonesia (COPI), as one of BPMIGAS?s Contractor Production Sharing (PSC), has invested US$ 709 million in construction of the FPSO facility. In addition, COPI has already invested US$ 176 million for development of the Belanak Field. These investments represent a part of the commitment of US$ 4 billion that will be invested in the expansion of Block B.

The number of workers directly involved in construction of this FPSO reached 3,000. Even so, the project really had a wider economic multiplier effect since this number does not include workers employed in supplementary activities.

The FPSO facility has been planned as a place for the collection and processing of oil and gas from the Belanak Field and several other surrounding fields in working area Block B in the South Natuna Sea. The facility, which can be operated continuously for 30 years without any need for dry-docking, will commence supporting production activities with 20,000 barrels per day in December 2004, rising to an expected 65,000 barrels per day in 2008. (end of release)

Source: Department of Energy and Mineral Resources