Sele Raya seeking to stop blowout with relief well

By Febry Silaban

PT Sele Raya is preparing to stop blowout at the West Belani-8 well in Merangin II block, in Musi Rawas Utara (Muratara) Regency, South Sumatra Province by using relief well, according to an official of the upstream authority SKK Migas.

"The techniques and tools are constantly being discussed. Parallel with the above discussion, preparations in the field such as site preparation for relief well, construction of pond water, rig inspection, and others have been also done," Chief Representative of SKK Migas for southern Sumatra Tirat Sambu Ichtijar told Petromindo.com, adding that efforts to control social and environmental impacts also continue.

SKK Migas expects that the blowout can quickly be extinguished.

"Local government reacts positively that this incident becomes proof that Muratara regency contains a huge oil and gas potential, so Muratara?s people are required to maintain the natural resources there," he said.

The West Belani 8 well which is located in Belani West Field within Merangin II block and operated by Sele Raya was hit by an uncontrollable blow-out on Monday, July 7, 2014.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon