Eric Watkins
OGJ Oil Diplomacy Editor
LOS ANGELES, Mar. 15 -- Indonesia’s upstream oil and gas regulator BPMigas has urged state oil and gas firm PT Pertamina to revamp operations at old wells and idle fields to increase production instead of acquiring blocks now owned by foreign companies.
“If Pertamina maximizes production of those wells and fields, the national oil and gas production will increase,” said Rudi Rubiandini, secretary to the BPMigas chairman.
“It’s better than acquiring other companies’ blocks that in the end don’t add to the country’s total production,” said Rudi, who explained that there are 5,000 aging wells and 50 idle fields across the country that could add production of up to 200,000 b/d of oil.
“The utilization of enhanced oil recovery technologies must be encouraged in the old wells,” said Rudi, adding, “Pertamina should also begin drilling the idle fields.”
Pertamina holds concessions of 141 sq km of oil and gas fields nationwide, he said, making it the largest among production sharing contract holders in the country but “sadly” not the largest in terms of production.
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].
Photo from OKEA.
Rendering from Cedar LNG.
