Exxon Mobil Corporation has announced that Mobil Cepu Ltd, an affiliated company, has made a major oil discovery in Indonesia following the successful completion of the Banyu Urip No. 3 (BU-3) well. With estimated recoverable oil in excess of 250 million barrels, the BU-3 well is one of the most significant oil discoveries in Indonesia in the past decade. The well encountered nearly 1000 feet (305 metres) of gross oil and over 300 feet (91 metres) of gross gas pay, and oil was tested at a rate of nearly 4500bpd from Middle Miocene carbonate and sandstone formations. The BU-3 well is part of the onshore Cepu Technical Assistance Contract (TAC), in Central and East Java provinces, Indonesia, of which Mobil Cepu is the operator. Pertamina, Indonesia’s state-owned oil company, has accepted an option to acquire a 10% share of the project.
