70% of oil wells in Indonesia in old condition

Indonesia could not benefit from the sharp increase in oil price, which this week reached US$54 per barrel due to a continued decline in the country's oil production, executives of national oil companies have said.

"How could we take the advantage of the high oil price, if the existing oil production is not enough, even, to meet the country's needs," said Supramu Santosa, the president of PT Star Energy said in a seminar on opportunities and challenges in oil and gas sector, which also featured other noted speakers including the commissioner of PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia (CPI), Humayun Bosha.

According to the two speakers, 70 percent of the country's oil wells are now categorized as old wells. Such wells contribute about 80 percent of the country's total crude oil production, which reaches about 1.2 million barrels per day.

Both Santosa and Humayun said that the country's oil industry, which had become the backbone of the national economy in the past, was now entering a crisis era.

He said that the situation would worsen if no efforts were made to boost new exploration activities. (*)