Lemigas-made CBM rig gets certificate

The Directorate General of Oil and Gas has issued a certification for a CBM prototype rig made by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources?s ?LEMIGAS? Research and Development Center for Oil and Gas Technology (PPPTMGB ?LEMIGAS?) and partner.

With the issuance of the certification, coal bed methane (CBM) companies may now use the rig in their exploration activities, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

The rig was developed by PPTMGB ?LEMIGAS? in partnership with PT Petrodrill Manufakturing Indonesia.

The rig is a combination of oil and gas conventional rig and mining rig. The ministry pushed for the development of such rig in order to drive the exploration of CBM resources in the country. Indonesia is said to have abundant CBM resources and the government has issued dozens of CBM contracts. However, the explorations have thus far brought limited results with contractors complaining about the lack of CBM rigs, the ministry said.

Oil and gas rig is too expensive to rent for CBM exploration since CBM exploration typically involve the drilling of numerous wells.

By using the Lemigas rig rather then oil and gas conventional rigs or imported CBM rigs, CBM contractors may reduce its drilling costs by 40 percent, the ministry said, adding that in terms of capability, the rig is equal with a 440 HP oil and gas conventional rig and it is able to drill up to the depth of 1000 and 1500 meters.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon