PHE ONWJ to soon close down YYA-1 well to end oil spill
Friday, September 20 2019 - 10:43 PM WIB
PT PHE ONWJ, operator of the ONWJ block in West Java, expects to be able to permanently shut down the offshore YYA-1 well, which is the source of oil leakages that started in July, by the end of this month as targeted.
PT Pertamina Hulu Energi (PHE), the parent of PHE ONWJ, said in a statement Friday that efforts to contain the oil leakages are now entering the final important phase following drilling of a relief well, near the YYA-1 platform, during the past six weeks. Vice President for Relations at PHE Ifki Sukarya said that the drilling of YYA-1 RW relief well has now reached the final safe point of installing a 8 ½” casing at a depth of 8,957 feet or 2,730 meters. This safe point leaves a 20-feet (6 meters) interval from the target for starting intercept at 8,977 feet or 2,736 meters.
“Now is at the phase of finding and intercepting the YYA-1 well hole. This is one of important processes so it must be implemented very carefully. The hope is that by end September, or early October at the latest, the (YYA-1) well can be closed down permanently,” he said in the statement.
After the intercept, according to him, the next stage is to pump in heavy mud into the relief well with the objective of killing the YYA-1 well. After killing the well, a 24-hour monitoring will be conducted before proceeding with the plug and abandon process, or permanent shut down of the YYA-1 well.
Efforts to contain the oil spill incident, which was triggered by well-kick at the reactivated YYA-1 well, was also being maximized by deploying five giant octopus skimmer around the YYA-1 platform. In addition PHE has also placed a 5x400-meters of static oil boom around the YY platform in order to prevent the oil spill from spreading.
In parallel, PHE has also started planting 10,000 mangrove trees in SegarJaya, Karawang Regency, a program to be expanded to other affected villages.
The company has also provided health services to villagers in affected areas deploying doctors and paramedics spread in 10 health centers, serving around 500 people per day.
In relation to compensation program, the company has identified 10,271 villagers, and as per September 19, a total of 2,401 villagers have received financial compensation.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak