PEP?s profit reaches almost $1 billion in first semester

PT Pertamina EP (PEP), a subsidiary of state owned oil and gas firm PT Petamina, booked a net profit of Rp 11.6 trillion or almost US$1 billion in the first half of the year, a 15.8 percent increase from Rp 10.08 trillion in the first half of last year.

The rise in the profit came as a result of the increase in oil production to 115,000 bopd at the end of the first semester of this year from 111,097 bopd in the beginning of this year. Meanwhile, gas production dropped by 2 percent to 1,036 mmscfd at the end of the first semester of this year, from 1,059 mmscfd at the beginning of this year.

The gas output decreased due to problems at the gas processing facility of the Java Gas Development Project in Blora, Cepu, Central Java, PEP?s acting spokesperson Agustinus said.

For the second semester of the year, PEP plans various activities to raise the national oil and gas production, including driling of exploration wells in three locations, driling of dozens of exploitation and development wells, including six wells in Asset-1, ten wells in Asset-2, one well in Asset-3, seven in Asset-5, three EOR wells in Tambun.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon