14 gas producers surpass output target

JAKARTA: Upstream oil and gas regulator BPMigas announced Tuesday that 14 of 56 production sharing contract (PSC) holders operating in Indonesia exceeded the natural gas production target set by the government for 2011.

According to a press statement sent by the agency, US-based ExxonMobil tops the list of gas producers that had exceeded the target with production of 417 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd), 89.18 mmscfd higher than the target, the highest margin among the 14 companies cited. The target for ExxonMobil is 328 mmscfd. Chevron Indonesia was listed in second position. The company is producing 141 mmscfd, surpassing the production target by 53.58 mmscfd. The proposed target for Chevron is 87 mmscfd. Premier Oil Natuna Sea B. V. followed at third on the list, recording a margin of 18 mmscfd higher than the proposed target. The company produces 145 mmscfd, well above proposed production of 126 mmscfd.

The fourth highest margin was booked by Santos (Madura Offshore) Pty. Ltd. with 16.87 mmscfd in output above the targeted 102 mmscfd mark. The firm produced 119 mmscfd of gas. Pertamina Hulu Energi-West Madura Offshore ranked fifth, producing 157 mmscfd above the target of 149 mmscfd.

As of today, the country’s gas production is 8,460 mmscfd, much higher than the target of 7,769 mmscfd. In September alone, the average production rate reached 9020 mmscfd.