Pertamina produces more oil from N. Sumatra's brown fields

State owned oil and gas company Pertamina said Saturday that it had successfully pumped out crude oil from the company's aging (brown) oil and gas field in Gebang area, some 75 kilometers from Medan.

Ridwan Nyak Baik, the general manager of Pertamina's operation unit for northern Sumatra said in a press statement that the company had successfully pumped out at least 361 barrels per day from one of the brown oil wells in the Gebang field.

The success has boosted the company's efforts to recover more oil and gas from the Gebang field which was firstly developed in 1936 by the Dutch government during the colonial era. Since 1970 the field has been operated by Pertamina, with peak production of about 3,321 barrels per day being achieved in 1979. Since then, the production continues to decline.

As part of the company's recovery program, new exploration activities have been carried out in the area. In addition to the new finding, Pertamina has also successfully pumped out gas from two locations in the field, each with production capacity of 1.7 million cubic feet and 1.9 million cubic feet a day. (godang)