A pumping well of Pertamina. Photo courtesy of Pertamina
Here is the monthly summary of oil and gas exploration and production activities in Indonesia in May 2022, according to SKK Migas.
· Daily crude oil production: 616,800 BOPD · Daily gas production: 5321 MMSCFD · Daily oil and gas production: 1,567,000 BOEPD · Exploration wells drilled YTD: 11 · Development wells drilled YTD: 291 · 2-D seismic survey completed YTD: 559 KM · 3-D seismic survey completed YTD: 269 KM2 · Amount of investment YTD: USD 3.9 billion · Number of Work Areas: 170
Here are other recent happenings in the oil patch of Indonesia.
· Pertamina recorded $2.046 billion corporate profit in 2021. This almost doubles the profit it made in 2020. · Pertamina EP has completed the construction of the Beringin A gathering station in Muara Enim in South Sumatera. The gathering station is designed to increase the capacity of the Prabumulih field to handle an additional 15 million MMSCFD of gas and 382 BPD of condensate. · Pertamina Hulu Energy has made hydrocarbon discovery from its exploration well GQX-1 in the Offshore North West Java (ONWJ) work area. · Gas production from the newly completed JML1 platform in the Jumelai field operated by Pertamina Hulu Mahakam had come on stream. The gas is piped to the production facility of the Senipah-Peciko-South Mahakam field. The Jumelai project is expected to produce 45 MMSCFD of gas and 710 BPD of condensate. · PT BSP (Bumi Siak Pusako) has started drilling its exploration well Nuri-1X in the CPP (Corridor Plain and Pekanbaru) Block in Riau. The company plans to drill 15 development wells and two exploration wells in 2022. · Pertamina Hulu Energy has started drilling the exploration well NSO-R2 in the North Sumatera Offshore work area. · Gas production from the new platform WPS-3 of Pertamina Hulu Mahakam came on stream on 10 June 2022. The installation of the WPS-3 platform and the subsequent drilling of the development wells are part of the JSN (Jumelai, North Sisi, and North Nubi) project. This platform is designed to handle 45 MMSCFD of gas.
This article is curated by Jamin Djuang, Chief Learning Officer of LDI Training.
A jetty at Balikpapan Refinery – Photo shared by Zaldi Ansyah
In the efforts to increase the oil production of Indonesia, the government has identified 34 oil fields as candidates having potentials for enhanced oil recovery.
Here are the fields and their locations:
Rantau field – Aceh
Bangko field – Rokan Block
Bekasap field – Rokan Block
Kulim field – Rokan Block
Balam South field – Rokan Block
Petani field – Rokan Block
Pematang field – Rokan block
Zamrud field – Coastal Plain and Pekanbaru (CPP) block
Beruk field – CPP block
Pedada field – CPP block
Pusak field – CPP block
Sago field – Pertamina EP Asset 1 Jambi
Ramba field – Pertamina EP Asset 1 Jambi
Limau Q51 field – Pertamina EP Asset 2 South Sumatera – Limau
Jirak field – Pertamina EP Asset 2 South Sumatera – Limau
Belida field – Natuna D Alpha block
Melibur field – Siak, Riau
Gemah field – Jambi, South Sumatera
Makmur field – Jambi, South Sumatera
Kaji field – Rimau block
Semoga field – Rimau block
Iliran High field – Rimau block
Rama field – South East Sumatera (SES) block
Krisna field – SES block
Widuri field – SES block
E-main field – Offshore North West Java (ONWJ)
Zulu field – ONWJ
MQ field – ONWJ
Jatibarang field – Pertamina EP Asset 3 in West Java
Mudi field – Pertamina EP Asset 4 in East Java
Sukowati field – Pertamina EP Asset 4 in East Java
Tanjung field – Pertamina EP Asset 5 in Kalimantan
Medco Energi Internasional is the first publicly owned oil company in Indonesia.
Medco is celebrating more than forty years of presence and continuing successes as one of the leading energy companies in Indonesia and Southeast Asia.
Medco Energi International became a public company in 1994, and today it operates in eight countries.
It has interests in oil and gas exploration and production, geothermal power generation, gas distribution and trading, and mining.
The year 2022 is a wonderful year for Medco Energy. It booked net profits of 531 million USD in 2022 which is more than 10 times higher than the US$ 47 million it made in 2021. The company produced 163 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) in 2022, a 73% increase over the previous year.
The Beginning of Medco
Medco Energi has come a long way in a short time since it started as an oil drilling service company in 1980, Meta Epsi Pribumi Drilling Company (MEDCO).
Founded by Mr. Arifin Panigoro, Medco Energi was a visionary and a trailblazer ever since its beginning.
The Acquisition of Stanvac Indonesia
The first breaks that made Medco became big and successful were the acquisition of Stanvac’s oil and gas assets in South Sumatera in 1995, and the following discovery of the big oil fields in Kaji and Semoga in the Rimau Block, in South Sumatera.
Stanvac Indonesia, set up by Standard Oil of New Jersey in 1912, was one of the oldest and biggest oil companies in Indonesia during the Dutch colonial era.
The Acquisition of ConocoPhillip’s Interest in West Natuna Sea Block B PSC
Medco Energi further expanded in 2016 when it purchased ConocoPhillips’s 40% interest in the West Natuna Sea Block B and took over the operatorship of the block.
This acquisition added substantial gas and liquids reserves and increased Medco Energi’s daily production by over 35%.
The block is in approximately 300 feet of water and had 11 offshore platforms, four producing subsea fields, and one FPSO – the Belanak FPSO – in addition to two dedicated floating storage and offloading vessels.
The Belanak FPSO was described as one of the most complex FPSO in the world. It was the first offshore liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) facility on a floating vessel in the Asia Pacific region when it was commissioned in 2004.
The fields include the Belanak field, South Belut field, Hiu field, Kerisi field, North Belut field and Bawal field.
The produced natural gas is sold to Singapore and Malaysia through a 654 KM long 28 inch gas pipeline.
Medco Energi also assumed the operatorship of the Onshore Receiving Facility in Singapore following the acquisition.
Acquisition of Ophir Energy
Medco Energi Internasional continued to expand by acquiring Ophir Energy, a London-based independent in 2019.
The acquisition of Ophir Energy increased Medco Energi’s daily oil and gas production by 29% to 110,000 BOE per day.
By taking over the operatorship of Ophir Energy’s offshore Bualuang field in Thailand, Medco Energi became a leading regional oil and gas player in South East Asia.
Acquisition of Corridor PSC and Transasia Pipeline
On March 3, 2022, Medco Energi acquired the entire remaining assets of ConocoPhillips in Indonesia..
Through this acquisition, Medco Energi is now the operator of the Corridor block with 54% interest and has 35% ownership of Transasia Pipeline Company.
The Corridor PSC has two producing oil fields and seven producing gas fields located onshore South Sumatra, Indonesia, adjacent to MedcoEnergi’s existing operations in South Sumatra. The Corridor is the second-largest gas-producing block in Indonesia.
Through Transasia, Medco Energi International now owns a minority interest in the gas pipeline network supplying Central Sumatera, Batam, and Singapore customers.
Acquisition of the Beluga Work Area
Medco Energi was awarded the Beluga exploration PSC on September 21, 2023. The work area is located close to its existing South Natuna Sea Block B infrastructure.
Medco Energi Internasional Q1 2023 Performance
Net profit – 119.5 million USD
Oil and gas production – 162,000 BOEPD
Average price of oil sold – $75.2 per barrel
Average price of gas sold – $7.2 per MMBTU
Oil and gas lifting cost – $7.4 per BOE
Oil and gas capital expenditures – $99 million
The capital expenditures are for the development in Natura and Corridor work areas.
Epilogue
With this latest acquisition, Medco Energi is now one of the largest oil and gas operators in Indonesia.
Besides acquiring producing assets, Medco Energi is also active in exploring new oil and gas reserves.
Its 2020 exploration drilling campaign in the South Natuna Sea Block B was 100% successful. It tested hydrocarbon in all the four exploration wells it drilled. The wells are Bronang-2, Kaci-2, Terubuk-5, and West Belut-1.
Medco Energi is planning to develop these fields.
As Medco Energi celebrates its more than 40 years of progress, with its solid management team, it certainly will continue to march toward an even brighter future.
Top Management Team of Medco Energi
Here is the top management team of Medco Energi.
Muhammad Lutfi – President Commissioner
Hilmi Panigoro – President Director
Roberto Lorato – Chief Executive Officer
Anthony R Mathias – Chief Financial Officer
Ronald Gunawan – Chief Operating Officer
Amri Siahaan – Chief Human Capital and Business Support Officer
Myrta Sri Utami – VP Corporate Planning & IR
Siendy K Wisandana – Head of Legal Counsel and Secretary
As a final note, Dr. Arifin Panigoro, the man who started it all and the founder of Medco group of companies died on 27 February 2022 at age of 76.
Eighty years ago, CALTEX discovered the huge Duri oil field in the Rokan block in Riau, Sumatera.
Oil was found at a shallow depth of 400 feet when CALTEX began drilling its exploration wells in 1941. However, the exploration drilling was interrupted due to the onset of the World War 2.
After the war ended, CALTEX managed to obtain the approval from the newly formed government of Indonesia to operate in the Rokan block under a work contract scheme. Eventually, oil production from the Duri field began in February 1954.
The giant Duri field – 10 km wide and 18 km long – is one of the many oil fields discovered in the Rokan block. Minas is another giant oil field discovered in this block.
Oil production peaked at 65,000 BOPD in the 1960s.
Due to the high viscosity of the low gravity oil, to enhance the production, the steam injection was introduced in 1985.
The Duri steam flood project was so successful that it became one of the largest and the best steam floods in the world.
Thanks to the successful steam injection, Duri oil production increased significantly to 185,000 BOPD.
After 30 years of the steam flood, the production had declined to about 50,000 BOPD by 2017.
With more than 2.6 billion barrels of cumulative oil produced, the giant Duri field is still producing today.
Chevron handed over the operatorship of the Duri field and the Rokan block to Pertamina in August 2021.
With Pertamina Hulu Rokan as the new operator, the Duri field and the Rokan block are undergoing a massive expansion.
More than 400 wells were drilled in the Rokan block with mostly done in the Duri field in 2022 and the company plans to drill another 500 wells in 2023.
Pertamina built a 17 MWp solar plant in the Duri field in 2022 to meet the electricity need of the field.
From top left clockwise: The tension leg platform of West Seno (TLP-A), a drilling support vessel, and the floating production unit (FPU).
Discovered by Unocal in 1998, the West Seno field, lying in water depths of about 3200 feet, is the first deepwater oil field in Indonesia.
Located in the Strait of Makassar, the West Seno field is about 50 km away from the giant Attaka field and 60 km from the Santan terminal in East Kalimantan.
The oil and gas are produced through a tension leg platform (TLP) which is also the first of its kind in Indonesia.
The floating topside of the tension leg platform is attached to the seafloor by four 3200 feet long tendons having a diameter of 26 inches and a wall thickness of 1.036 inches.
Currently, all the subsea wells are produced from platform TLP-A which can accommodate 28 wells. Unocal originally had planned to build two tension leg platforms.
Oil production from the West Seno wells began in 2003 and currently, they are producing about 1200 BOPD. The fluids from the subsea wells are initially separated into oil and gas on the FPU (Floating Production Unit).
The separated oil and gas are then transmitted via two 12-inch diameter and 60 km long pipelines to the onshore facilities at Santan for final handling and storage.
One of the oil production challenges of West Seno is handling the difficult-to-break emulsions. The emulsions are hard to break due to the presence of certain chemicals in the fluid, the decreasing fluid temperature as it rises to the surface, and the motion of the floating platform.
The West Seno offshore production facilities also handle the production from the nearby Bangka field. Bangka field produces about 1000 barrels of condensate daily and 40 MMSCF of gas per day.
The development of the West Seno field was made possible by having a favorable PSC profit splits of 35 percent instead of the regular 15 percent for shelf developments.
Fifty years ago, Union Oil of California (UNOCAL) along with its partner, INPEX, discovered the giant offshore oil field Attaka in East Kalimantan.
General Soeharto, the president of Indonesia at that time, then inaugurated the Attaka field and the Santan terminal on 22 January 1973.
In the early days of Attaka and the Santan terminal, there were many workers from the US and UK. Over time, they were gradually replaced by Indonesian workers.
Unocal operated the oil field for 25 years from its East Kalimantan headquarters located in Balikpapan. The Attaka field was subsequently acquired and operated by Chevron, and then by Pertamina Hulu Kalimantan Timur beginning on 25 October 2018.
At 50 years old, the field is still producing today.
Thousands of oil people – expatriates from many nations and Indonesians from every region – have visited and worked in the offshore facilities and the onshore Santan terminal including me.
I worked in the Attaka field as “Production Foreman” in 1980. I hope you like this snippet of the history of Attaka and the Santan terminal.
The photo showed the drilling activity at the West Seno field, the first deepwater field in Indonesia. The photo was taken by Dr. Tony Tirta.
The average crude oil production in Indonesia in 2018 is 803,000 barrels per day according to SKK Migas of Indonesia.
Here are the top ten crude oil-producing companies in Indonesia in 2018.
Chevron Pacific Indonesia – 209,000 BOPD
Chevron is the biggest oil producer in Indonesia in 2018 and has been a leading oil producer in Indonesia for more than 90 years. It started operating in Indonesia in 1924 under Standard Oil Company of California (SOCAL).
Chevron operated oilfields in Sumatera and East Kalimantan. It’s East Kalimantan assets came from the acquisition of Unocal in 2005. Chevron handed back all the assets in East Kalimantan to the Indonesia government on October 24, 2018, after 50 years of operation under Unocal and Chevron.
Currently, Chevron’s oil production comes mainly from the oil fields located in Riau, Sumatera under the Rokan Production Sharing Contract. The biggest oil field in the Rokan PSC is the Duri field which has been under steam-flood since 1985 and is one of the largest steam flood projects in the world. Minas is another giant oil field that Chevron discovered and operated in the Rokan Block.
ExxonMobil Cepu Ltd – 208,000 BOPD
ExxonMobil Cepu Ltd is the operator of the Cepu block located in Central Java and East Java. The Cepu Cooperation Contract (KKS) was signed on 17 September 2005 and will continue until 2035. ExxonMobil holds a 45% interest in the Cepu block.
ExxonMobil started exploration in 1999, and the oil from the Banyu Urip field started to flow in December 2008.
Pertamina EP – 79,000 BOPD
Pertamina EP operated 21 oil and gas fields located in various parts of Indonesia. These oilfields are managed under five asset groups based on their geographical locations.
Located in North Sumatera and some parts of South Sumatera, the Asset One oilfields include Rantau Field, Pangkalan Susu Field, Lirik Field, Jambi Field, dan Ramba Field.
Located in South Sumatera, the Asset Two oilfields include Prabumulih Field, Pendopo Field, Limau Field dan Adera Field.
Located in West Jawa, the oilfields included in Asset Three are Subang Field, Jatibarang Field dan Tambun Field.
Located in Central and East Jawa, the Asset Four oilfields include Cepu Field, Poleng Field dan Matindok Field.
Located in the eastern part of Indonesia, the oilfields in Asset Five are Sangatta Field, Bunyu Field, Tanjung Field, Sangasanga Field, Tarakan Field dan Papua Field.
Pertamina Hulu Mahakam – 42,000 BOPD
Pertamina Hulu Mahakam became the operator of the oil and gas fields located in the Mahakam Block on 1 January 2018. The fields were previously discovered and operated by Total along with Inpex as its partner. They acquired the block in 1966.
Several giant oil and gas fields are located in this block such as the Handil field, the Tunu field, and the Peciko field.
Pertamina Hulu Energi OSES (Offshore South East Sumatera) – 30,000 BOPD
Pertamina Hulu Energi OSES became the operator of the oil fields in Block South East Sumatera on September 6, 2018. The fields were previously operated by CNOOC, China National Offshore Oil Company.
Pertamina Hulu Energi ONWJ – 29,000 BOPD
Pertamina Hulu Energi ONWJ (PHE ONWJ) is currently the operator of the Offshore North West Java (ONWJ) production sharing contract following the change of company ownership from BP to Pertamina in July 2009.
The contract area, located in the Java Sea, covers an area of approximately 8,300 square kilometers – stretching from the North of Cirebon to Kepulauan Seribu.
The giant Ardjuna field is located in this Production Sharing Contract area. It was discovered by ARCO – Atlantic Richfield Company – in 1969 and operated by ARCO until BP – British Petroleum – acquired ARCO in 2000.
The production facilities consist of 670 wells, 170 shallow water platforms, 40 processing and service facilities and some 1,600 kilometers of sub-sea pipeline.
Medco EP Natuna – 16,000 BOPD
Medco EP Natuna, a subsidiary of Medco Energi, is the operator of the South Natuna Sea Block B. The field was initially operated by ConocoPhillips until Medco Energi acquired it in 2016.
Besides producing oil, Medco EP Natuna also supplies gas to Singapore using a 656 KM long 28” subsea pipeline.
Petronas Carigali (Ketapang) – 15,000 BOPD
Petronas Carigali Ketapang operates the Bukit Tua Field located in the Ketapang Block in East Java. Bukit Tua is an oil field but with a significant amount of associated gas. The offshore field is situated at a water depth of about 57 m.
The production facilities consist of wellhead platforms, an FPSO – Floating Production, Storage and Offloading – and onshore receiving facilities (ORF) in Gresik.
PetroChina International Jabung – 14,000 BOPD
PetroChina International Jabung operates the prolific Jabung Block located in Jambi in Central Sumatera.
The company produces crude oil, condensate, LPG and gas. PetroChina supplies gas to Singapore using a 450 KM long subsea pipeline.
An interesting aspect of the block is that PetroChina discovered the fractured basement rock contains a significant quantity of gas that can flow at significant rates.
Pertamina Hulu Kalimantan Timur – 13,000 BOPD
Pertamina Hulu Kalimantan Timur operates the East Kalimantan-Attaka Work Area. Chevron was the previous operator of the work area until it handed over the operatorship to Pertamina on October 25, 2018.
Attaka, the famous giant oil field is located in this block. The Attaka field was discovered and operated by Unocal until Chevron acquired it in 2005.
The oil fields in this work area are in the late declining phase. Around one billion barrels of oil and 3 TCF of gas have been produced from this work area.
