Untapped oils at old wells reach 38 billion barrels

The maximum production of crude oil at each of the country’s oil wells reach only about 40 percent of the existing oil reserves potential due to the lack of enhanced oil recovery technology. With this estimate, the total volume of untapped oil in the existing oil wells could reach well above 38 billion barrels, Kompas reported on Friday.

The chairman of the association of the Indonesian oil engineers, Kardaya Warnika, said in Jakarta on Thursday that the large volume of the untapped crude oil indicated that the enhanced oil recovery operation in the country had not been maximized.

According to him, if the maximum production level could be increased by five percent, the additional crude oil production could be well above the proven oil reserves discovered in the country.

In addition to the low volume of the maximum production level, many marginal oil wells have also been left unintended. According to data from the ministry of energy and mineral resources, Indonesia has at least 60 marginal oil fields, and each of them have the potential to produce between 200,000 and 300,000 barrels per day. (*)