Rigzone.com, Monday, May 04, 2009  Indonesian state oil and gas company PT Pertamina said it will boost its investment in the more profitable upstream sector of the oil industry.

Pertamina plans to raise its investment by 25 per cent to Rp22 trillion (US $2 billion) this year and 65 per cent of which will be in the upstream sector, company deputy president Omar S. Anwar said.

In 2012, the company will double investment to Rp41 trillion also to focus on the upstream projects, Omar added.

The future of the oil and gas industry lies in the upstream sector and Pertamina would not be left behind, he told the newspaper The Jakarta Post.

He said business in the upstream sector promises higher return than the downstream venture , which is more competitive involving more market players.

Pertamina’s returns from its downstream operations average between 5 percent and 10 percent as against an average of 50 percent from the upstream operations.