PGE Kamojang to drill two geothermal wells next year

Petromindo|Dasir

PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE) Kamojang Area plans to drill two geothermal wells (make up wells) next year to increase steam supply to the PLTP Kamojang geothermal power plant in Kamojang, Bandung Regency, West Java, Antara reported on Wednesday.

The news agency quoted Faiq Kautsar, Maintenance Manager at PGE Kamojang Area, as saying that the two wells are expected to have production capacity of around 20 MW, or about 10 percent of the PLTP Kamojang current total capacity of 205 MW.

He added that the company has set up plan to drill new geothermal wells in every three-year to anticipate natural declining production of the aging geothermal wells.

The plan to drill two new geothermal wells comes as the unit I of the PLTP Kamojang (with capacity of 30 MW) will resume operation in October of next year after having been shut down since April 2014.

Faiq said the unit I plant was shut down after having more than 32 years of operation, which exceeds the 30-year average operation lifetime. The shut-down of the unit I has reduced the total capacity of the PLTP Kamojang to 205 MW from 235 MW.

PGE Kamojang Area supplies geothermal steam for the unit I of the PLTP Kamojang operated by power firm PT Indonesia Power, a subsidiary of state-owned electricity firm PT PLN. Of the total five generating units of the PLTP Kamojang, units I, II and III are operated by Indonesia Power, while unit IV and V operated by PGE Kamojang Area, an indirect subsidiary of state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina, which has been operating the Kamojang geothermal field since 1983. (*)