Since the awarding of Indonesia's first offshore-production sharing contract to IIAPCO in August 1966 the boom has been on. Never before have so many

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different contractors searched so intensely for oil anywhere in southeast Asia. More miles of geophysical work have been done in the past 5 years than in all previous periods of Indonesian exploration. Even though oil drilling activity in Indonesia began in 1872, more widely scattered exploratory tests have been drilled in the current exploration cycle than during any comparable exploration period. The results have been variable. Although most exploration data remain confidential, it is known that some geologic interpretation and dogma have been disproved. Even though the majority of the exploratory ventures have resulted in economic failure, a measure of success has been recorded in 3 areas. The Ardjuna and Cinta fields are producing at the rate of 25,000 and 40,000 bbl/day of oil, r spectively, and the Ardjuna complex is expected to reach 75,000 bbl/day of oil in late 1972. Also, the Attaka field was scheduled at 30,000 bbl/day of oil by October 1971 and to exceed 100,000 bbl/day of oil during 1973. These do not appear to be giant oil fields, but they are economic ventures. The Attaka field, containing an estimated 300 million bbl of recoverable oil, appears to be Indonesia's best offshore discovery to date.

Will another giant oil field like Minas be found? The applicable geologic criteria do not rule out the possibility, but the probability of several small giant fields being present appears better. The current search, with a fair measure of success, should discover them.

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