Onews,-- US-based Chevron, the leading crude oil producer in Indonesia, is set to spread its wings to the eastern part of the country after wrapping up a seismic survey of two exploration blocks in West Papua.

Chevron Indonesia vice president for policy, government and public affairs Yanto Sianipar said recently that the oil and gas contractor hoped to begin drilling at its West Papua I and West Papua II block following the survey’s completion.

"We aim to review the results of the survey as soon as possible before we decide when we will start drilling,” he said in Jakarta. "We surely hope we can have a presence in West Papua.”

The top executive was referring to the two exploration blocks in West Papua in which Chevron holds a 51 percent operating interest, according to the company’s official website.

The remaining participating interest is held by British giant BP plc, which currently operates the massive Tangguh gas project in Teluk Bintuni, West Papua.

Yanto declined to give a specific timeline for drilling in the West Papua I block, located in Kaimana, West Papua, and West Papua II, located in Fakfak.

He said, however, that the firm was keen to expand its massive oil and gas business in Indonesia by starting production at the two blocks.

The country’s upstream oil and gas regulator SKKMigas estimates that Indonesia still has about 26 billion barrels of proven oil reserves as well as 44 billion barrels of potential oil reserves, most of which are located in Kalimantan, Java and Papua.

Chevron, through its subsidiary Chevron Indonesia Ventures Ltd, won the rights to explore the two blocks in West Papua in 2008. For the first three years of exploration, the firm has committed to invest US$24.5 million in each block.

Chevron Indonesia led oil and gas investment in the country this year by contributing almost $4 billion to the sector, according to data from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry.

Chevron’s investment is valued at 17 percent of the total $23.5 billion invested by 74 oil and gas contractors in the country who have entered the production phase

In 2012, Chevron’s approved work plan and budget (WP&B) comprised around $2.7 billion in investment, which means the firm’s investment in 2013 has increased by 37 percent from last year.

Investment from other major upstream players this year remains much the same as last year, he added. France-based Total E&P Indonesia, for example, contributed $2.5 billion in investments this year, according to its 2013 approved WP&B, or relatively around the same figure as last year.

In 2012, Chevron’s average daily oil production reached 342,000 barrels per day (bpd), up by 3.6 percent from the previous target of 330,000 bpd, mainly from its massive but maturing Duri field in Riau, Sumatra.

The firm’s production alone accounted for 40 percent of Indonesia’s oil output last year of around 870,000 bpd.

Chevron currently owns and operates the Rokan and Siak block in Sumatra as well as offshore operations in East Kalimantan and the Makassar Strait.

Orginal News: The Jakarta Post