Minister: Pertamina?s EOR program not limited to China?s technology
Thursday, October 10 2013 - 02:39 AM WIB
Minister of State Owned Enterprises, Dahlan Iskan stressed that state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina can carry out the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) program to revitalize aging wells with any partner, not limited to those from China.
He dismissed suggestion that the EOR program carried out by Pertamina was based on instruction from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono merely meant to accommodate the interest of Chinese companies providing EOR technology as a form of compensation for an expected increase in the price of LNG from the Tangguh refinery exported to China. ?It?s absolutely not true,? Dahlan told Petromind.com on Wednesday.
?Pertamina can cooperate with anyone. It can partner with companies from Japan, China, or even domestic companies to revitalize its aging wells via EOR program,? Dahlan said.
He added that Pertamina has thousands of aging wells, providing opportunities not only for Chinese companies but also firms from other countries. ?It?s impossible for only one party to do it (the EOR program). Invite as many (partners) as possible, but they must have their own tehnology,? Dahlan stressed.
He said he has instructed state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina to carry out three strategies to increase production including by finding new oil and gas fields, acquiring oil and gas blocks overseas, and revitalizing aging wells via enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technology.
Developing new wells/fields or acquiring new assets overseas, however, would take quite a longer time, while revitalizing aging wells via EOR program would be faster to achieve higher production.
?Pertamina?s production target is 200,000 bpd by end of 2014. It is impossible to achieve if only relying on new wells. It would be faster by revitalizing thousands of aging wells, while waiting for the new ones (to begin production),? Dahlan ended.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak