Indonesia okays Cepu oilfield plan - Pertamina

KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 (Reuters) Indonesia's energy regulator has approved the development plan for its big Cepu oilfield, with production on track to begin in late 2008 or early 2009, the head of state oil firm Pertamina said on Monday.

''The development has been approved, we are proceeding with the field development,'' Pertamina President and CEO Ari Soemarno told Reuters on the sidelines of the Asia Oil&Gas Conference (AOGC). ''We hope we can start late 2008 or early 2009.'' ''Peak production will be 150,000-170,000 barrels per day.

It will not take too much time to get there, only a year or less, to reach full production,'' he added. Pertamina had submitted the Cepu plan to oil and gas watchdog BPMIGAS on May 5.

The approval allows the project, Indonesia's biggest untapped discovery and the OPEC member's best hope to reverse its sliding production, to clear another hurdle. In March Pertamina and Exxon Mobil signed a joint operating deal, ending a five-year deadlock and spurring hopes for a speedy development.

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