New minister emphasizes the importance of technology
Friday, July 29 2016 - 03:57 PM WIB
Newly-installed Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Archandra Tahar said Indonesian must rely on technology to develop its energy sources, including to exploit the oil resources which remain deposited underground and irrecoverable using traditional technology.
?If a field is said to be depleted, that means there are still 50-60 percent of the reserves remaining. The question now is how to exploit the remaining 50-60 percent? Use the technology,? Arcandra said Friday during his first meeting with the media.
He said in choosing the technology, several factors must be put into consideration, including the production life of a field.
?If I have a small field that has a remaining production life of five years and use a technology that is usable for 20 years, that means the technology will only be used for five years and be left unused for the remaining 15 years.
?How many fields do we still have that still have 20 years of production life? Not many. (Mostly) five or three years. The question now is how to make a platform that is of use for only five years and place it at a field that has a production life of five years; and a platform that is of use for three years and place it at a field that has a production life of three years,? Arcandra, who holds a doctoral degree in ocean engineering from Texas NM College.
?The era of big oil fields, coupled with comfortable geological condition and available infrastructures has been over. Now is the era of marginal fields, offshore including deepwater, tight and shale oil/gas ad EOR. The new era is even worse due to remote locations and lack of infrastructures,? he said.
Reiterating what he said in his speech on Thursday, when he officially took over from Sudirman Said, the previous minister, he said he will strive to transform the industries under his supervision ? oil and gas, power and mining.
?Transformation in the energy and mineral resources sector is not an option but a must,? he said, adding his program in transforming the industries consist of three pillars: First,. Making business process efficient, transparent and measurable; second, competent human resources supported by knowledge, skills and experience; third, utilizing appropriate and on-target technology so that human resources and business process that are being developed become effective and efficient
With regards the power sector, Arcandra said he as the President?s assistant will protect the 35,000 MW. ?The obstacles that arise, including the one related to synergy with other ministries, will be settled as soon as possible,? he said.
He admitted his lacking knowledge about mining industry but he promised to learn hard and find solutions to all problems there.
Editing by Johannes Simbolon