PHE to shut down aging wells in NSB block

Upstream company PT Pertamina Hulu Energi (PHE), a subsidiary of state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina, is set to soon launch a plug and abandon program on a number of aging wells at Arun field in the North Sumatra B (NSB) block, North Aceh Regency, Aceh Province.

Pertamina said in a statement on Monday that the plug & abandon program will be carried out by its drilling services company PT Pertamina Drilling Services Indonesia (PDSI) at the end of 2017.

The statement said that PDSI has prepared rig N-80 UE.UY-3 to implement the plug & abandon program at four wells namely Arun 96, 78, 70, and 110 scattered in four districts of Syamtalira Aron, Nibong, Tanah Luas and Matangkuli in North Aceh.

Pertamina said that PHE through subsidiary PHE NSB and PDSI have met with local administration officials and communities to gain support for the plug & abandon activities.

PHE through PHE NSB took over the NSB onshore block from its previous operator ExxonMobil Oil Incorporation in October of 2015. At the same time, PHE through another subsidiary PHE NSO also took over the operatorship of the North Sumatra Offshore (NSO) block, located in North and Each Aceh, from Exxon.

According to the statement, the NSB block started production in 1977, and reached a peak of 3,400 mmscfd. The NSO block started production in 1996, with peak production of 400 mmscfd. The gas and condensate output from the two blocks were supplied as feedstock for the Arun LNG plant in Aceh when it was still in operation from 1978 to 2014.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak