(Adds details of financing plans, quotes)
By Muklis Ali
JAKARTA, May 8 (Reuters) - Indonesian energy firm PT Medco Energi Internasional <MEDC.JK> on Thursday said its oil output fell 5 percent in the first quarter from a year ago, and may drop further in 2009 until its new oil fields come on stream.
Hilmi Panigoro, chief executive, said that Medco's business would shift from mainly oil production to more gas production from the end of 2009, when its new gas field in South Sumatra starts up.
It will also see a boost to its oil output once its oil field in Libya begins operations, possibly by the first half of 2010, Panigoro said in an interview with Reuters.
Medco Energi's oil production fell to 48,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the first quarter, from 50,600 bpd in the same period last year, the company told Reuters.
Medco Energi plans capital expenditure of about $1 billion over the next three years in order to expand its domestic and international business, Panigoro said.
He added that Medco is looking for a strategic partner to take a stake in Medco Global, its international unit, which is worth at least $700 million and which has operations in Libya, the United States, Oman, Yemen, and Cambodia.
Medco is already talking to its existing strategic partners about taking a stake of up to 50 percent in the unit, he said.
Medco Energi's existing partners include Canadian energy firm Verenex <VNX.TO> in the Libyan venture, as well as UK oil explorer Premier Oil <PMO.L> in a natural gas project in Aceh province, in the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra island.
Plans to sell shares in Medco Global through a private placement and subsequent initial public offering in London had been put on hold because of the uncertainty in the world financial markets, he said. "We are talking directly to strategic partners, our existing partners. A listing is still possible, but it is not the goal, there is no need to do an IPO," Panigoro said.
Each of Medco Energi's four key business units, which include the domestic, international, and power -- will eventually seek funding from strategic investors, he said. (Editing by Sara Webb)
