Unocal upbeat on Indonesia oil, gas investment climate: Report

U.S. energy major Unocal Corp. and project finance directors from two major banks gave an upbeat assessment of Indonesia 's investment climate for oil and gas Tuesday, but remained cautious on the prospects for the country's power sector, Dow Jones reported Tuesday.

Indonesia 's oil and gas reform program encouraged investor confidence, they said, particularly legislation enacted last October to privatize state-owned oil and gas company, Pertamina.

The move effectively removes Pertamina's monopoly on upstream developments - which requires it to be included in all production sharing contracts - within two years. Its monopoly on the distribution of petroleum products is to be terminated within four years.

"I think the oil and as gas sector remains very robust," Andrew Buglass, Unocal's vice president of project finance for Asia, told an annual meeting of the International Project Finance Association in Singapore.

"From Unocal's perspective, there's definitely a significant interest in Indonesia , particularly in deep water (oil and gas exploration) areas," he said.

The company has invested around US$960 million in the West Seno field - the country's first deepwater venture - which is slated for commercial production in early 2003. (*)