Medco to use EOR to hold back S. Sumatra oil production decline

JSX-listed oil and gas frim Medco Energi International Tbk. is studying possibility to apply enhanced oil recovery (EOR) to its Kaji-Semoga oil field in South Sumatra to slow down declining production rate at the maturing field, a company director said.

?Medco has assigned consultant to study which EOR technology will be best used in the field. The study will be completed within the next few months, then we would submit proposal to BPMIGAS to get approval,? director Rashid Mangunkusumo told Petromindo.Com Thursday.

Rashid said current strong oil price has made it more economic to adopt EOR technology to increase oil recovery rate. He predicted that EOR application would add some 24 million barrels of recoverable oil to the field, or 10 percent of remaining oil in place.

Kaji/Semoga commenced oil production in 1997, reaching peak rate of 60,000 barrels per day in 2000 and had declined sharply to 37,000 BPD this year. Rashid said production from Medco?s newly acquired or newly developed oilfields cannot compensate the decline from Kaji/Semoga field, resulting in production drop for the company. (alex)