Pertamina ready to boost West Madura production
Saturday, May 7 2011 - 02:52 AM WIB
Pertamina?s corporate secretary Hari Karyuliarto said in Jakarta on Friday that with its technical and financial capabilities, he was optimistic that Pertamina would be able to produce up to 29,000 barrels per day (bpd) as targeted by the government.
He said that like in the North West Java offshore block, Pertamina was able to increase production to 30,000 bpd from 21,000 bpd.
The government officially named Pertamina early this week as the operator of the West Madura oil block replacing South Korean company Kodeco in the new contract which is effective May 7 for another 20 years. Pertamina?s ownership in the block is increased to 80 percent from 50 percent previously, with Kodeco holding another 20 percent, unchanged from the previous year.
Pertamina?s vice president for corporate communication, Mochamad Harun, said earlier that the state oil and gas company would invest up to US$1 billion in five years in the West Madura block if it was allowed to become the operator of the oil and gas block.
He said that with an increase in investment, Pertamina would also be able to increase production in the oil and gas block by at least 20 percent a year.
Kardaya Warnika, the expert staff to the energy and mineral resources minister, said that the government appointed Pertamina as the operator of the West Madura because it was sure that the company would be able to increase the production from the current level.
He said that the government was targeting oil production at the West Madura block would increase to 29,000 bpd within a year after the extension of the contract. This year, the average production at the oil block is only about 16,350 bpd.
Oil and gas upstream regulator BPMIgas said that the country?s oil production in the country has declined sharply in recent months due a drop in the production at major oil blocks. The average production reached only 895,997 bpd, far below the government?s target of 970,000 bpd. (*)