ENERGY NEWS

IMI: 1999 INDONESIAN OIL STATISTICS

Summary: The Ministry of Mines and Energy has released Indonesian crude oil production, export and import data for calendar year 1999. Production at slightly over 1.5 million barrels per day (b/s) in 1999 was down 3.6 percent from 1998, reflecting reduced production by major U.S. oil firms. Exports also declined due to the reduced exportable surplus of crude and increased domestic consumption of fuel products. Indonesian crude oil imports rose 17 percent in 1999 to meet a 6-percent increase in demand for fuel products. End Summary.

Production Slackened: Indonesia produced an average of 1,500.3 thousand barrels per day (mb/d) of crude oil and condensate in 1999, 3.6 percent lower than in 1998. The downward trend resulted from declines reported by the country’s major petroleum producers: Caltex, Arco, Conoco, Mobil, Total and Unocal. Production rates declined from 1,557 mb/d in January to 1,483.8 mb/d in December 1999. Condensate production declined from 172.5 mb/d in January to 157.4 mb/d in December. The fall in condensate production reflected the maturity of natural gas fields, particularly Mobil’s and Unocal’s fields. Officials said that low production levels would continue in 2000 since no large oil field had been discovered in recent years and new oil-field development would be concentrated on smaller fields in the more mature provinces (on and offshore) Sumatra, Java and Kalimantan. PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia (a joint venture between Chevron and Texaco) produced 50 percent of the country’s crude during the year, followed by Maxus (9 percent) and Arco (5 percent). Total Indonesie produced 35 percent of Indonesia’s [149.1 mb/d] condensate production from its natural gas reservoir in East Kalimantan and Mobil Oil Indonesia produced 29 percent from its gas fields in Aceh, North Sumatra.

Table 1. OIL AND CONDENSATE PRODUCTION BY MAJOR PRODUCERS IN 1999

(Actual figures - in 1000 b/d)

Exports Slumped: The net exportable surplus of crude and condensate dropped 7.5 million barrels in 1999 compared to 1998 to 272.9 million barrels. This is a result of a lower average daily crude production rate and a 5-percent increase in consumption of petroleum fuel products for domestic transportation. Export destinations reflected no major surprises, with 35 percent of the country's crude oil continuing to go to Japan. Other major buyers were South Korea, Australia, the People's Republic of China, the United States and Taiwan. "Minas", "Duri" and "Widuri" crude oils were the dominant crudes. The country earned $ 4.7 billion from oil exports in 1999. This reflected a 36.5-percent increase from $3.4 billion in 1998, showing the upward trend of oil prices throughout the year.

Crude Imports Jumped: In contrast to exports, Indonesia's crude imports rose 17 percent in 1999 to 84.6 million barrels, valued at US$ 1.5 billion. The crude was used to supplement domestic crude oil in Indonesia’s refineries. Although the country's largest oil refinery, Cilacap, is designed to process Arabian Light, similar grades, such as Iraq Light, can also be used. In 1999, Pertamina bought about 35 million barrels of Arabian Light and "experimented" with several Vietnam crudes, Iraq BLC, Malaysian crudes and Nigerian crudes. A reflection of political problems between Australia and Indonesia, Australian crude exports to Indonesia declined sharply to 2 million barrels from 7 million barrels in 1998. In contrast, crude oil imports from Vietnam, Nigeria, Iraq, China and Saudi Arabia increased significantly.

Table 2. INDONESIA CRUDE EXPORTS AND IMPORTS

Trends | Reports | Energy | Petroleum | Investment