Three companies explore oil and gas in North Sumatra

Three foreign companies including SINOPEC International Petroleum of China, CISTA and Asia Petroleum Development are currently exploring oil and gas in North Sumatra, Investor Daily reported on Monday.

Rahmat Prayitna, a representative of BP Migas, the government's regulatory agency in charge of oil and gas exploration and production, said in Medan recently that SINOPEC was drilling oil and gas resources in the Langkat regency.

According to him, the drilling activities at one of the oil wells in the Langkat oil field had reached the depth of 2,000 meters of the planned 3,500 meters. "SINOPEC has found an indication of significant condensate reserves but the company needs at least one more month to process the details of the finding," he was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile CISTA, a joint venture between Costa International Group Ltd and Pertamina, has also reported a significant finding in its concession area in Pangkalan Susu, Langkat.

"The company can produce at least 30 million cubic feet of gas in the area in the middle of this year," Rahmat said, adding that the finding is about a half of Pertamina's total gas production in North Sumatra.

The third company, Asia Petroleum Development was also conducting exploration activities in Asahan. But no findings have so far been made by the company. (*)