ExxonMobil Corp., Irving, Texas, (NYSE: XOM) reports that its subsidiaries Mobil Cepu Ltd. and Ampolex (Cepu) Pte. Ltd. have signed a joint operating agreement with P.T. Pertamina EP Cepu, a subsidiary of P.T. Pertamina, for the Cepu contract area in east and central Java, Indonesia. The signing of this joint operating agreement enables the parties to begin the activities and make the investments required to develop the discovered resources and further explore the block during the 30-year contract period. The block will be managed by the parties under a joint operating committee. Pertamina and ExxonMobil will provide management oversight, technology and manpower under the agreement. Ampolex and Mobil Cepu acquired their interests in the Cepu contract area in 1997 and 2000 with the approval of both Pertamina and the government of Indonesia. In March 2001, Pertamina and ExxonMobil announced the Banyu Urip discovery on the contract area. The discovery is estimated to contain more than 250 million barrels of oil. Pertamina and ExxonMobil each hold a 50% interest in the contract.