Field test for surfactant injection in Minas to commence in October

By Demas Simbolon

PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia will field-test its enhanced oil recovery (EOR) program through surfactant injection in Minas field in October, according to upstream authority BPMIGAS Chairman R. Priyono following his visit to the site on Tuesday.

The Minas field is one of the biggest oil fields in the country, containing an estimated 8.7 billion barrels of oil-in-place. Since its first production in 1962, the field has produced a total of 4.6 billion barrels of oil.

The EOR program, mostly through water flooding, has been put in place by Chevron to help retain production level against natural depletion. The surfactant injection is the advanced EOR program currently undertaken by Chevron.

?This project is very promising as the oil reserves in Minas are still there. But it needs an advanced technology such as EOR to lift the oil,? said Priyono.

The injection will be carried out on six wells.

Editing by Dadan Wijaksana