Oil output to increase next year: President

Oil and condensate production may increase by 0.5% next year, helped by additional output from new fields including Cepu, Central Java, partly operated by Exxon Mobil Corp, Bloomberg reported.

Output may average 965,000 barrels a day in 2010, while crude oil may average $60 a barrel, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told the House of Representatives Monday.

R. Priyono, chairman oil and gas regulator BP Migas, said last month that output at Cepu may climb to 20,000 barrels a day by the end of this year, from 200 barrels a day in December.

Exxon and state oil company PT Pertamina each owns 45% of Cepu, while local governments hold the rest.

Indonesia is trying to boost output from new fields to meet its energy demand as productivity from aging fields declines.

Output of crude oil and condensate rose to 950,900 barrels a day in June, from 941,584 barrels a day in May, BP Migas said.