ExxonMobil to produce sour crude oil from Banyu Urip field

ExxonMobil said it will produce sour crude oil from its Banyu Urip field, in the Cepu technical assistance contract in East Java, in the first significant sour crude production from Indonesia. The crude will be waxy sour crude, with an API of 32, said Julia Tumengkol, spokeswoman for ExxonMobil Oil Indonesia.
API is a measurement of the weight of crude oils, whereby a relatively low API indicates a heavy crude and a high API indicates a lighter grade. 34 API is the midpoint of the range of crude grades. ExxonMobil plans to begin production from the Cepu block at 25,000 bpd in 2003, ramping up to 100,000 bpd by 2004, Tumengkol said.

Indonesia produced 1.25 mm bpd of crude in March 2001. ExxonMobil is still in negotiations with Indonesia oil company Pertamina over terms for developing the Cepu block. ExxonMobil wants to extend the expiry date of the technical assistance contract, and Pertamina wants more than a 10 % stake in the block, an industry source said. ExxonMobil said April 12 that Pertamina has "accepted an option to acquire" a 10 % share of the project.