Pertamina EP plans to drill 155 oil and gas wells this year

PT Pertamina EP, one of state oil and company Pertamina?s production arms, plans to drill at least 155 development wells this year as part of its program to increase crude oil production to 132,000 barrels per day (bpd).

As of today, production at Pertamina EP reached 123,000 bpd of crude oil and 1,043 MMSCFD of gas. In February, the oil production fell due to bad weather such as rains, The company?s director for operation Tony Harisman S said in Jakarta on Tuesday

The company has drilled 25 development wells of oil and gas until now, he said, adding that the gas production has surpassed the company?s target of 926.2 MMSCFD for this year.

He said that Pertamina EP would spend up to Rp 6 trillion (about US$690 million) to finance the expansion plan including the drilling of development wells. According to him, the drilling cost for new oil and gas wells varies from one another at least US$5-$6 million per well, depending on the depth of the well. (giok)