Pertamina EP optimizes oil, gas potentials

In a strong show of consistent performance, state oil and gas producer Pertamina EP recorded an average production of 123.400 barrels of oil and 1.047,7 MMSCFD of gas as of the end of first semester this year.

After tax profit is estimated at Rp 8.2 trillion in the first semester, strengthening the company's role as one of the major oil and gas producers in the country.

Pertamina EP's President Director Syamsu Alam said he expected the performance to increase significantly in the second semester and beyond.

Existing fields and production increase in Pendopo field by 158 bpd, UBEP Limau by 867 bpd and UBEP Tanjung by 131 bpd contributed the most to the company's output growth in June. The production increase was a result of efforts to optimize production and drilling facilities.

The company has completed drilling work in 54 wells in the first semester and is currently conducting drilling in 11 wells.

The company is initiating breakthrough projects such as acceleration of new field development, intensifying development drilling, reactivating suspended wells, conducting enhanced oil recovery (EOR), and put on production exploration.

The measures have managed to convert natural decline which reached 18% per year into a 3% increase.

Thanks to its achievement, Pertamina EP has received award from the government in 2009 and 2010 for maintaining production increase for five years in a row.

The company is also actively searching for new oil and gas reserves. As of the end of first half of 2011 the company has completed drilling five exploration wells and is drilling another five exploration wells. In terms of seismic survey, the company has conducted a survey on 342 square km of area. This is expected to give a boost to production growth.

The company has also adopted Enhance Oil Recovery (EOR) in a number of wells as pilot projects, which in the first semester of the year enhanced production increase to 301 bpd from the target of 277 bpd.

A number of existing wells have exceeded production target this semester. In Sumatra, Rantau field production hit 2,386 bpd or 104,2 percent of the target. In Java region production reached 101 percent above the target, which came from Jatibaran field with 3,534 bpod, Subang field with 1,200 bpod and Tambun field with 9,093 bpod. In east Indonesia, UBEP Sangasanga Tarakan contributed 7,133 bpod, Bunyu field produced 4,742 bpod, all above their set targets. (godang)