Govt. to raise oil output to 1.2M bpd by 2010

The government intends to increase the country's crude oil production by 200,000 barrels to 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2010, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said, Asia Pulse reported Thursday.

"I think we will be able to raise our crude oil production to 1.2 million barrel per day by 2010 as we have adequate oil resource potential," he said.

Indonesia had large potential to raise its oil production to meet its rising consumption, he said.

"We have so far been able to export oil. The market for our oil is already clear. In this country of 220 million population, we will not lose the market," he said.

The country's crude oil production currently stood at 1 million bpd while its oil consumption reached 1.2 million bpd, he said.

Chevron to double geothermal capacity in SE Asia

Chevron Corp., the second-largest US oil company, plans to double its geothermal generation capacity in Southeast Asia by 2020 as record crude prices boost the attractiveness of the renewable energy, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

Chevron may develop new areas and expand existing plants, David Newell, a business development manager at Chevron's Indonesian geothermal unit, said.

The company currently operates areas in Indonesia and the Philippines that produce 1,273 MW from geothermal plants, he said. 

Indonesia, the world's third-largest producer of geothermal energy, wants to increase the amount of electricity produced from alternative sources.

Chevron is studying 10 areas on the islands of Sumatra and Java, Newell said.

The San Ramon, California-based company may expand its 377-MW Salak geothermal plant in West Java by as much as 75 MW, he said. It will decide on the investment, which may cost $80 million, by year-end. 

Medco posts 49% rise in Q1 net profit on stronger sales

The country's biggest publicly-listed oil and gas company PT Medco Energi Internasional said on Monday its first-quarter net profit rose 49% from a year ago aided by stronger sales, Thomson Financial reported.

The company said it booked a net profit of $22.96 million in the first quarter against $15.43 million a year earlier.

Medco said its sales jumped 86% to $334.55 million from $179.87 million in the first quarter of last year, mainly driven by oil and gas sales which rose 68% to $210.5 million.

The remaining sales came from drilling and related services, chemicals and other petroleum products, and power sales.

Medco said its operating profit rose to $87.75 million from $49.44 million a year ago.

Meanwhile, The Jakarta Post reported Tuesday that PT Medco E&P Indonesia plans to spend $260 million this year on the development of its oil and gas blocks, its president director Lukman Mahfoedz said

He said the company would drill 80 wells in existing fields and about 20 wells in exploration areas this year with a total budget of $150 million.

Inpex to build floating LNG plant in Masela Block

Inpex Masela Ltd has proposed building a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in the Masela Block in the Timor Sea with an investment of around $4 billion, a report said Tuesday, Asia Pulse reported.

The Japanese company submitted a plan of development (POD) for the project to the government in mid-April, government sources told the newspaper Investor Daily. 

The Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Agency (BP Migas) suggested Inpex cooperate with Australia’s Woodside Petroleum Ltd to speed up implementation of the project, the sources said. 

Chief of studies and development at BP Migas Handoyo Eko Wahono said Inpex wanted to build a pipeline to transport gas from the Masela Block to Australia but BP Migas is against the option. 

Building a floating LNG plan is more effective and efficient, Wahono said. 

Genting submits West Natuna development plan

Genting Oil & Gas Pte Ltd is preparing plan of development (POD) for oil and gas explorations in the West Natuna block, Riau, Asia Pulse reported Tuesday.

The oil and gas concession was formerly awarded to Premier Oil before it was returned to the government and was taken over by the Malaysian company on December 12. 

A manager of Genting Oil Livia Sadikin said Monday Genting had discovered oil after drilling two exploration wells in the block.

Work is now in the process of drilling and the block is expected to come on stream in 2011, she said. Genting is the sole operator of the block. 

Mitra gets $500M loan to finance oil rig acquisition

Transport company PT Mitra Rajasa said it has secured a loan of $500 million to finance the acquisition of 80.6% of oil rig operator PT Apexindo Pratama, Asia Pulse reported Thursday.

Mitra Rajasa, which has transport contracts with large cement producers, started expanding its business to oil and gas mining services last year.

A consortium of investment banks agreed to provide financial support for the acquisition of Apexindo, Mitra chief commissioner Tito Sulistio told the newspaper Bisnis Indonesia.

The consortium is composed of both foreign and domestic investment banks, Sulistio said without giving names.

The 80.6% stake will include the 48.9% stake owned by PT Medco Energi Internasional and the 31.7% stake owned by Encore International Ltd owned by the Panigoro family.

Earlier Abacus Capital and Bormindo Nusantara failed to agree on a price for a deal on Medco's stake.

Compiled by: Mahendra Siregar and Hari S. Noegroho