ExxonMobil pushes up production in Indonesia

ExxonMobil has started increasing production rates at its onshore Banyu Urip oilfield in Indonesia, the Reuters news agency reported on Tuesday.

The company is aiming to reach a peak production level of 200,000 barrels per day in 2015, ExxonMobil Indonesia vice-president Erwin Maryoto told Reuters on Monday. Production at the field in April was 75,000 barrels per day.

While high oil yields have resulted in low prices globally, the boost in production at Banyu Urip will help Indonesia push back against declining national production levels and meet domestic demand. The country produced an average of 882,000 barrels of oil per day in 2013, according to the BP Statistical Review, compared to 1 million barrels in 2008. Consumption rose from 1.29 million barrels of oil per day in 2008 to 1.62 million in 2013.

The Banyu Urip field is located in the Cepu block in East Java. ExxonMobil subsidiary Mobil Cepu holds a 45 percent participating interest in the block. Pertamina EP Cepu, a subsidiary of Indonesia’s national oil company, also owns 45 percent, while Badan Kerja Sama Blok Cepu, a consortium of local government companies, holds the remaining 10 percent.

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