Pertamina conducting 2D seismic survey in West Papua

PT Pertamina EP (PEP), a subsidiary of state owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina, said on Thursday it is in the middle of conducting 2D seismic survey in West Papua.

The firm said the so-called Kupalanda 2D seismic survey which has been approved by upstream authority SKK Migas covers a total length of 431 km in several districts in two regencies in the province, namely Kokoda district in Sorong Selatan regency; and Kamundan, Wiriagar, Tomu and Aranday districts in Teluk Bintuni regency.

PEP?s Manger of Public Relations Muhammad Baron said the survey started in last December and is expected to be done in August of this year.

The seismic survey aims to find new hydrocarbon resources in the area, Baron said, adding that the last time Pertamina carried out seismic survey in Papua was in 1998.

The areas covered in the survey consist of lowlands with sago on the south and tropical forests on the north. The areas are crossed by three rivers, namely Kamundan, Wiriagar and Arandai.

The activity is involving 1,100 people, 70 percent of whom are locals, with safe works reaching 617,920 hours as per May 17, 2016.

?The work field is challenging as there are no access road to the survey locations. The survey locations can only be accessed using boats, supported by choppers used to transport food and oil fuel supplies and for evacuation in case of emergency,? Baron said.

Aside from the Kupalanda survey, the firm is also conducting four other seismic surveys, including Tanjung Area 1 2D, Bunyu 2 D, Akasia 3D and Seremban 3D seismic surveys.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon