NT OIL & GAS: In brief

Business Asia, March 17, 2000

* Darwin -- Magellan Petroleum is planning to step up its program in the Palm Valley gas field in the Northern Territory as it mulls proposals to drill additional wells in the field. The proposal is designed to accelerate deliveries of gas. To date, Magellan and its partners in Palm Valley have supplied 119.4 petajoules (PJ) of gas from the field. It is contracted to supply a total of 255 PJ of gas to be delivered by 2012. In a statement, Magellan said indications were that the state-owned purchaser of the gas would take only a total of 238 PJ. However, additional wells are required to ensure the gas reserves are delivered within the required time frame.

* Jakarta - State oil and gas firm Pertamina plans to raise oil output from 70,000 to 100,000 barrels per day in the next two to three years by maximising capacity of its old wells. Oil production of the old wells could be boosted by between 30 and 40 per cent, the firm's president Baihaki Hakim said.

- Asia Pulse

* Sydney -- Rising production rates and oil prices have propelled Australian oil and gas producer Novus Petroleum to a dramatic profit turnaround of A$15.5 million in the year to December, up from a loss of A$13.5 million. Novus's average crude oil selling price climbed from US$13.26 to US$17.48 a barrel. The upward trend seems likely to continue as crude oil prices recently hit a nine-year high of more than US$31 a barrel.