Conoco Expect Belanak To Be Rich In Oil

Indonesian oil contractor Conoco said it expected to produce 40,000 barrels per day (bpd) by the end of 2004 from Belanak field in West Natuna.

"We will be installing oil platforms next year and beginning to drill in the third quarter of next year," Conoco Indonesia President Patrick Meyer told reporters. "Oil production from Belanak will begin in October or November 2004 at around 40,000 bpd," he said.

Conoco currently produces about 44,000 bpd of oil from other fields in Indonesia.

Meyer says Belanak is being developed using floating production storage and offloading (FPSO).

Indonesia is encouraging foreign oil contractors to boost oil production, although a mines and energy official said there have been difficulties in doing so this year.

"There is room for Indonesia to add oil production but some criminal problems hampered Caltex Pacific Indonesia," the official, who declined to be identified, told Reuters.

Caltex, owned by Chevron Texaco has been hit by incidents of theft as well as labour problems in its operations area in Sumatra's Riau province.

Indonesia, Asia's only OPEC member, produced 1.10 million bpd of crude oil and 120,000 bpd of condensate in June.

Indonesia has a quota of 1.125 million bpd from the cartel.

©

&to=http://www.conoco.com/' target=_blank>CONOCO