Indonesia sees higher exploration spend in 2008

Indonesia, Asia-Pacific's only OPEC member, has been offering new exploration rights and financial incentives for its oil fields in a bid to stem a steady decline in production.
Southeast Asia's biggest economy had hoped to achieve some $2.3 billion in exploration spending this year, but has fallen short of that target.
"We can't fulfil this year's exploration spending commitment. This year spending is around $1.8 billion. But next year the spending will rise to $2.2 billion," Achmad Luthfi, deputy chief of BP Migas, told Reuters.
"There are many obstacles, including difficulty in finding rigs, and that has caused some of the exploration activities to be delayed," he said.