Pertamina to up oil production by 42%

Pertamina aims to increase oil production by 42% and gas production by 17% next year, Indonesia’s state-owned energy corporation announced on Tuesday.

While average crude output was 308,000 bopd so far in 2016, Pertamina hopes to increase it to 438,000 bopd in 2017, spokeswoman Wianda Pusponegoro told Reuters. At the same time, the corporation is hoping to raise its natural gas production to 64.5 mcm (2.28 bcf) a day, up from 55.2 mcm (1.95 bcf) this year.

Much of the increase is expected to come from mergers and acquisitions, Pusponegoro added. In recent years, Pertamina has been seeking to expand its upstream activities both at home and overseas.

“We hope to execute [deals] immediately in fields we are targeting,” she said. “Our targets are Russia, Iran and Iraq.”

In April, the company announced that it would invest up to USD 2 billion this year in energy projects in Indonesia, Iraq, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Gabon. In August, Pertamina signed a deal to buy a 24.5% stake in France’s second-biggest oil company, Maurel & Prom, valued at some USD 1 billion, and is expected to acquire the whole company by December.