Indonesia - The Main Oil/Gas Fields & Operators.

Crude oil in this archipelago had been produced since 1893, when the islands were ruled by the Dutch and the oil helped turn Shell into a leading conglomerate this century. An independent republic of Indonesia was first proclaimed in 1945 and the war for independence from Dutch rule ended in 1949, when the Indonesians finally took control of their resources. The following are brief profiles of the main oil and gas fields producing in Indonesia and their operators. Pertamina, the state concern established after the war, owns all assets related to the hydrocarbon industry, although now it is being reshaped and some of the assets are to be privatised. The company operates many small and medium fields in various regions. They include all the fields that were discovered and operated by the Dutch before independence and those fields which Pertamina has discovered since the 1960s. It has offered many of its marginal oilfields to foreign and some local companies for EOR and further development under Technical Assistance Contracts (TACs). The state company has discovered a number of gas fields in recent years and has offered some of them under both production sharing contracts (PSCs) and TACs. Pertamina's exploration unit has been active in various parts of Western Indonesia and has made a number of discoveries. The company's upstream assets are valued at about $900m. Its proven oil and gas reserves are estimated independently at about 650m barrels of oil equivalent. The main oil producing regions are: Riau province, mostly in Central Sumatra; the Java Sea; East Kalimantan; and Natuna. The main gas producing areas are East Kalimantan and Arun (North Sumatra). In the next decade, the main gas producing regions would be led by Natuna and Irian Jaya. The largest island in Indonesia, Sumatra, has about 70% of the country's proven and probable oil reserves and accounts for 60% of its oil production. It has three main hydrocarbon provinces. Central Sumatra is the biggest oil province in the country and is the location of one of the most remarkable oil production systems in the world, including Indonesia's two giants Minas and Duri oilfields. It has a small number of gas fields with relatively limited reserves. North Sumatra is mainly a gas province. South Sumatra is an oil province but the fields are small. Of the foreign investors in Indonesia's upstream, Inpex of Japan is the biggest with a broad portfolio of assets worth more than US$3.9 bn and oil and gas reserves of over 2.2 bn barrels of oil equivalent. Mobil comes next, with assets worth over $3.4 bn and about 1.2 bn barrels oe of oil and gas reserves. Total is third, with assets exceeding $3.3 bn and almost 2 bn barrels oe in reserves. The other major investors are Caltex ($2.5 bn with 2.7 bn barrels oe), Arco ($1.2 bn with over 700m barrels oe), Unocal ($850m with 600m barrels oe), and Lasmo ($780m with 450m barrels oe).