Pertamina EP to raise Merbau gas production

PT Pertamina EP, a subsidiary of state-owned oil and gas PT Pertamina, plans to increase gas production at its Merbau field in southern Sumatra from the current 31 MMSCFD to 45 MMSCFD by early 2012, the company?s senior official said on Wednesday.

?We will increase the gas production after we manage to remove the CO2 content from the gas,? Pertamina EP?s operational director Bagus Sudaryanto told Petromindo.com in Jakarta on Wednesday.

According to Bambang Widjanarko, general manager of Pertamina EP?s southern Sumatra division, its Merbau field was producing gas from 15 active wells.

?We have 17 wells in the field. But only 15 are producing, while the other two have been closed,? he said, adding that currently the firm?s gas production, now reaching 31 MMSCFD, is transported to Java island via the pipelines belonging to by state-owned gas distributor PT Perusahaan Gas Negara.

?Currently, we?re preparing a tender to provide the CO2 removal facility,? he added. (godang)