Artificial lake construction to store Bengawan Solo water 80% completed

By Febry Silaban

The construction of an artificial lake to store water from Bengawan Solo River in Central Java to be injected into injection wells in Banyu Urip field managed by Mobile Cepu Limited (MCL) has been 80 percent completed, according to a senior official of the MCL.

"Now, the overall progress of the project is around 80 percent and the cost of the project is still within the budget approved by the government," said VP of Public Relations and Government Affairs at ExxonMobil, Erwin Maryoto, to Petromindo.com on Monday.

He said the use of the Solo Bengawan water for injection is contained in the initial design of the project and in the Plan of Development (PoD). The water from Bengawan Solo will be taken through a pipe in the rainy season and when the water level is still above the minimum limit, Erwin explained.

"The water will be stored in an artificial lake that is currently being built and then will be injected into injection wells to keep the pressure of the reservoir when production begins," he pointed out.

Separately, Unit Head for Acceleration of Banyu Urip Project at upstream authority SKK Migas, Julius Wiratno also told Petromindo that water injection for pressure maintenance is contained in the PoD for Cepu block. He did not say the cost of the project in detail.

"But overall the project is still in the approved budget," Julius said.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon