Chevron swaps Indonesia oil areas with Anadarko http://today.reuters.com/stocks/QuoteCompanyNewsArticle.aspx?view=CN&storyID=2006-06-14T115132Z_01_JAK143808_RTRIDST_0_ENERGY-INDONESIA-CHEVRON.XML&rpc=66
Wed Jun 14, 2006
JAKARTA, June 14 (Reuters) - U.S. oil company Chevron Corp.(CVX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) has swapped its stakes in five Indonesian oil blocks with one held by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC.N: Quote, Profile, Research), a company official said on Wednesday.
Chevron Indonesia spokeswoman Ratna Novianti said the company was still to get approval from the country's oil and gas watchdog.
Chevron will give up its stakes in the offshore blocks of Muara Bakau, Popodi, Papalang, Bukat and Ambalat in Makassar Straits and in return will get a 40 percent stake in the North East Madura III offshore block from Anadarko.
Novianti said Chevron has a 50 percent stake in Muara Bakau, 24 percent each in Popodi and Papalang and 33.75 percent each in Bukat and and Ambalat. "The areas are not yet producing and Chevron wants to focus on other projects," another Chevron official said.
Indonesia, Asia-Pacific's only OPEC member, has struggled to maintain production as the country has failed to tap new oilfields fast enough. Indonesia was a net importer of crude throughout the second quarter of 2005, as production at its oilfields declined at a rate of 5 percent or more annually.
Indonesia has said it has around 9 billion of proven and potential oil reserves and 182 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.