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Left behind by other national oil companies, Indonesia's
state oil and gas company PT Pertamina is pursuing overseas expansion
in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East to improve its output and
global standing.
Pertamina president Ari H Soemarno revealed here Friday that the
company was now entering Latin America via Ecuador, a country that will
be accorded membership of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) during this weekend's summit, along with Angola.
"They (Ecuador) want us to operate three blocks there, two exploration
and one exploitation. We are finalizing the agreements," Ari told The
Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the OPEC oil symposium.
Pertamina is already in the Middle East via Qatar, where it holds a 25
percent interest in an oil field, which it is exploring together with
Wintershall, a subsidiary of BASF and the biggest German-based oil and
gas drilling company.
The company is now eyeing an oil field in Iran, and is currently in
negotiations with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). "The chances
are still 50-50," Ari said.
In Africa, Ari said Pertamina was prospecting for oil in two oil blocks
in Libya, onshore and offshore, which it controls fully.
The company also holds a 15 percent participating interest in an
offshore oil field in Sudan operated by China National Petroleum
Corporation (CNPC) and a local partner.
Nearer to home, Pertamina is exploring for oil in Malaysia together
with Petronas.
All of those overseas fields, however, have not yet produced any oil as
most of them are still at the exploration stage. Only the one in
Malaysia, named SK305, is entering the production stage.
The SK 305 field is expected to start production in 2008, with an
initial output of 5,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil. Pertamina
hopes the field will eventually produce between 20,000 and 30,000 bpd.
On the domestic front, Ari said, Pertamina is continuing to prospect
for oil in a number of new blocks, including one in the Makassar
Straits in cooperation with StatOil of Norway, and another offshore
field south of Papua in partnership with Shell.
"With these exploration activities, we hope to double our output
capacity from the current level of 255,000 bpd of crude oil and gas
within the next five years," Ari said.
Pertamina also hopes to improve its standing so as to put it on a par
with other national oil companies, whose role -- according to oil
expert Soebroto -- is becoming more important, especially since the
surge in oil prices.
Soebroto, a former OPEC secretary-general, said that with rising oil
prices, the world was seeing a diminution in the role of the
international oil companies and at the same time an increasing role for
national oil companies.
"I hope that it will challenge Pertamina. Right now, we must admit that
by comparison with other national oil companies, Pertamina is not in
the same league as compared to Saudi Aramco or even Petronas, PDVSA of
Venezueala, PEMEX of Mexico, Petrobras of Brazil.
"Pertamina is still in the junior league. But this is the challenge for
Pertamina," he said.
While Pertamina may be ready to take the challenge, it is shackled by
problems related to its position as a state company. Although it was
recently converted into a limited liability company, Pertamina still
cannot produce an audited balance sheet.
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