Indonesia's biggest oil producer PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia has said output was running at 660,000 barrels per day (bpd), down from a forecast 705,000 bpd, because of a range of disruptions.

Riau operations on the island of Sumatra of the oil giant, jointly owned by Chevron Corp and Texaco Inc, have been hit by a series of disputes with local administrators and workers in the past year.

''We shut three small fields six months ago because we couldn't get in there to operate. We also have fields where we cannot go in and drill wells or develop fields,'' Caltex Indonesia president Humayun Bosha said on the sidelines of an oil conference.

Last year Caltex said it aimed to produce 740,000 bpd in 2001 but later revised that figure. Caltex accounts for about half the nation's crude oil output.

Earlier this month Caltex said it expected to post revenue losses of around $400 million this year due to security disruptions at its operations in Riau.

Bosha also indicated Caltex would be prepared to keep running the troublesome Coastal Plain Pekanbaru (CPP) field in Riau once a 12-month extension expired if it was commercially viable to the company.

Jakarta extended the CPP contract, which expires this month, to allow more time for preparations before it was handed over to the government.

Riau has been haggling with Jakarta for months over the field and is demanding a 70 per cent stake. But Jakarta has said state oil firm Pertamina would get 85 per cent and the local government 15 per cent.

''We've been at CPP for 30 years and this extension is just caretaking. But if the commercial side of things is okay, then we would be happy to continue there,'' Bosha said.