JAKARTA, Sept 13 (Thomson Financial) - PetroChina International Jabung Ltd said Thursday it plans to invest 372 million US dollars this year to maintain its gas and oil output levels at Jabung block in the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

The projected investment is 40 percent bigger than last year. The spending will be allocated to the drilling of 5 new exploration wells among other things, Yin Xiaohua, a business manager at PetroChina said.

 

 

He said gas output from Jabung is targeted to reach 101 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd), little changed against 100 mmscfd in 2006.

The block is also expected to produce crude oil at a volume of 13,008 barrels per day, condensate at 8,874 barrels per day and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at 13,115 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

In 2006, the block produced 12,803 barrels of oil per day, 9,344 barrels of condensate per day and 12,918 barrels of oil equivalent of LPG.

The gas output from Jabung has been sold to Singapore since 2003. Since mid-2006, the block has also supplied gas to the Tanjung Jabung power plant .

PertoChina Jabung holds a 27.86 percent interest in Jabung block, which is equal to the share owned by Petronas Carigali (Jabung) Ltd . Other shareholders in the block are PP Oil&Gas (Indonesia-Jabung) Ltd with 30 percent and state-owned PT Pertamina with 14.29 percent.

PetroChina also has an interest in Bangko block in South Sumatra, Tuban in East Java, and Salawati in Indonesian easternmost island of Papua.