Premier and partners finds significant gas in Ujung Pangkah

British energy firm Premier Oil and partners have completed an appraisal drilling program on the Ujung Pangakah field in the Pangkah production sharing contract (PSC) area offshore East Java.

One of the partners, Dana Petroleum Plc, also a British firm, said in a press release that results of the analysis by leading experts Degolyer & MacNaughton revealed that the field contained approximately 450 billion cubic feet of liquids-rich gas (equivalent to around 90 million barrels of oil).

The appraisal program has also confirmed the presence of a significant oil accumulation underlying the gas, which will be the subject of further study, Dana said.

Premier OIl Natuna Sea Ltd, which operates the contract area, has 40 percent shares, while Dana has 12 percent. The remaining shares are owned by Amerada Hess (Indonesia-Pangkah) Ltd (36 percent), Gulf Resources (Pangkah) Limited 12 percent.

Dana said Ujung Pangkah is located five kilometers south of the Sidayu I field where it had discovered oil.

Sidayu I flowed 1,450 barrels oil per day, the company announced in November last year.

The Pangkah PSC co-ventures were now considering development options for the Ujung Pangkah and Sidayu fields and have commenced discussions for gas sales, the company said.

"The gas reserves identified at Pangkah have significantly exceeded our planned case and given the close proximity to gas sales market we should now be able to look forward to an attractive commercial development," Dana's chief executive Tom Cross said.

Pangkah is approximately 40 kilometers north of East Java's capital of Surabaya and the major industrial center of Gresik. Surabaya is the country's second largest city. (Bodega)