Mahakam production sharply increases

By Febry Silaban

The current oil and gas production at the Mahakam block in East Kalimantan has increased sharply, exceeding the target set in the 2015 Work Plan & Budget (WP&B), according an official of French firm Total E&P Indonesie (TEPI), the operator of the block.

TEPI?s Spokesperson Kristanto Hartadi told Petromindo.com that gas production reached 1,744 mmscfd, higher than the 1,645 mmscfd target.

Meanwhile, oil production was 68,000 bpd, higher than the 65,000 bpd target.

?The gas production increased due to the additional contribution from the South Mahakam Phase 3 (SMK3) project,? Kristanto added.

The SMK3 project is located in the South Mahakam field, which is part to the Senipah, Peciko and South Mahakam (SPS) production fields of Mahakam block. The project started development on April 26, 2013 and was completed on April 21, 2015. The first well of the project, JM-101 was spudded on May 8, 2015. As a matter of fact, South Mahakam field has been producing gas since 2012. The JM-101 well will add around 315 mmscfd of gas and around 13,600 boepd of condensate to the field?s output.

TEPI is the operator of the block with a 50 percent interest, with the remaining 50 percent interest held by Japanese firm Inpex Corp. The current contract expires at the end of 2017. The government has decided to hand over 70 percent interest in the block to state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina (Persero), and offer the remainder to TEPI and INPEX.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon