Medco seeks ways to improve economics of EOR project

By Godang Sitompul

PT Medco E&P Indonesia (MEPI) is working together with upstream oil and gas authority SKK Migas to seek ways to make its EOR project at the Kaji Semoga field in Rimau block, South Sumatra Province, economically feasible.

MEPI President Director Ronald Gunawan said on Monday that the application of EOR technology at the field could increase oil reserves recovery factor from 39 percent to 50 percent.

However, the application of the EOR technology using chemicals (surfactant plus polymers) is quite expensive, and thus full-scale application in the field amid the lingering weak oil price environment makes the project to be not economically feasible.

?We?re working together with SKK Migas to seek solution so that EOR project can be economical and that we can immediately apply it to increase the oil reserves recovery factor,? he told Petromindo.com.

MEPI, a subsidiary of IDX-listed energy company PT Medco Energi Internasional Tbk, started in 2013 trial application of the EOR technology at the Kaji Semoga field, but suspended the project in 2016 due to the drop in oil price.

Medco EP Rimau has 95 percent stake in Rimau block with the remaining 5 percent held by South Sumatra provincial administration-owned firm Perusahaan Daerah Pertambangan & Energi Sumsel.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak