PHE to drill 6 wells at WMO block this year

PT Pertamina Hulu Energy (PHE), a subsidiary of state oil and gas company PT Pertamina plans to build five or six wells at the KE38 area of the West Madura Offshore (WMO) oil block this year in order to increase the oil production.

The new drilling activities are expected to increase oil wells in the KE38 area, which at present has 14 oil wells.

Dwi Martono, the director of the company, said last week that the drilling of one of the new wells had been completed. ?We will soon begin the drilling of the second well,? he said.

In order to accelerate the drilling works, the company would also operate second rig next month, in addition to the construction of four platforms, he said.

He said he hoped the production target of 20,000 barrels per day could be achieved this year because the present oil production had already reached 14,000 bpd, while gas production had reached 162 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD).

With such an encouraging development, the company is also hoping oil and gas production would increase to 30,000 barrels per day and gas to 170 MMSCFD in 2012, he said adding that the company has also decided to use the Lamongan port as the company?s shore base to receive and transport equipment for the exploration and production activities.

He said although the Lamongan port would serve as the main shore base, the company would still use the Gresik port for non-equipment transportation. (godang)