Indonesia eyes slight rise in oil production

Indonesia, the second smallest member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC) in terms of oil production, hopes to slightly increase production to 1.02 million barrels per day (bpd) this year.

In 2006, Indonesia produced an average of 1.01 million bpd of crude oil and condensate, down from 1.05 million bpd in 2005.

The government has claimed that the goal was realistic as some of the oil firms operating here were planning to increase their output, major national newspaper The Jakarta Post reported Tuesday, quoting an official as saying.

U.S.-based Chevron, for instance, plans to add 10,000 bpd this year to boost production to about 400,000 bpd.

Indonesia, once a major oil producer in OPEC, has suffered a decline over the past several years due to a lack of new finds and investment. The country is now a net oil importer.

Indonesia's oil production exceeded 1.5 million bpd in the early 1980s.

To boost investment in the oil exploration sector, the government recently awarded exploration rights in remote areas of the country through a direct-offer mechanism to 18 firms with a total investment of 235.78 million US dollars.

This year, the government will offer 20 more oil and gas blocks through an open tender.

The government hopes to boost oil production to 1.3 million bpd by 2009.

Source: Xinhua