Chevron?s oil recovery project to produce in 2012

Indonesia?s top crude producer Chevron Pacific Indonesia (CPI) said the project to use chemical flood injection technology in its enhanced oil recovery (EOR) program would expected to start producing in 2012, Media Indonesia reported on Friday.

?Based on seismic test and field trip, we predict that injection of surfactant can increase production up to 60,000 barrel per day,? President Director of CPI Suwito Anggoro said on Thursday.

The company has used the technology in its Minas oil field in Riau called STF-1 and STF-2, he said. Adding that Minas field has oil reserve of around 9 billion barrels.

Meanwhile CPI?s Director Executive Jeff Shelleabarger said that the technology would be capable of increasing production by 20 percent.

The company, which is a unit of US oil major Chevron Corp., said in a hearing with the House of Representatives on Nov. 14, 2007 that it would produce crude at the rate of 398,000 BPD in 2008.

The firm estimated its crude production would average 423,000 BPD this year, beating the 415,000 BPD target set earlier. (*)