Oil Lifting Problems in Indonesia

JI-Jakarta. Indonesia said it missed oil and gas production targets last year but expects long-stalled gas projects, the Indonesia Deepwater Development (IDD) and Masela gas blocks, to resume development soon.

The Southeast Asian country, which aims to boost its crude oil lifting to 1 million barrel per day (bpd) and gas to 12,000 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) by 2030, and is ramping up efforts to attract investment and to get stalled projects going.

U.S. oil giant Chevron is close to reaching a deal with an investor to transfer its stake and operatorship of IDD, said Dwi Soetjipto, head of upstream oil and gas regulator (SKK Migas). Chevron announced in early 2020 its intention to exit its 62% stake in the project as it makes sweeping changes to its global portfolio.

State-owned Pertamina Hulu Rokan (PHR), the operator of Rokan block, is collaborating with EOG Resources, a U.S.-based oil and gas exploration company, to drill two unconventional oil and gas wells in the Rokan block, namely Kelok and Gulamo.

SKK Migas Deputy Wahju Wibowo expressed hope that this collaboration will enable the transportation of shale gas and shale oil resources stored in layers in the block. He said the two wells would be drilled in April and August of this year.

Pertamina said that they seek to maintain and strengthen Indonesia’s national energy security, as well as supports decarbonization through environmentally friendly operations.

“We are very proud that last year, Pertamina had successfully reduced around 29 percent of carbon emission in our operations,” PT Pertamina (Persero) CEO Nicke Widyawati said.

Speaking during the Indonesia Pavilion event of the World Economic Forum in Davos,  she said, for that success, in terms of the ESG performance, Pertamina has now ranked second on the global sub-cluster of integrated oil and gas companies.

Indonesia plans to offer 10 oil and gas working areas this year, including a block in the South China Sea, amid efforts to boost energy production and make new discoveries, a senior energy ministry official said.

Among the oil and gas fields Indonesia plans to offer this year are working areas in Natuna D Alpha, which are giant gas fields situated in the South China Sea, energy ministry official Tutuka Ariadji said.

Tutuka also expressed hope that stalled gas mega-projects such as Indonesia Deepwater Development (IDD) and Masela could soon be resumed.