JAKARTA. The government has decided to increase the volume of oil from the Banyu Urip field in the Cepu block to achieve its national output target.
Banyu Urip, which is currently the most promising oil field in the country, is expected to reach a production level of 205,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd), up from the previous production estimate of 165,000 bopd, as stated in the development plan.
Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKKMigas) chief Amien Sunaryadi said the higher production would be supported by temporary production facilities in the field,
“As of March, the CPF [central production facility] has started to provide output for commissioning. We hope all will be finished in June when there will be a temporary shut down to connect all facilities and we can see a full output of 205,000 bopd in October,” Amien said.
There are five major projects being developed in the Banyu Urip field, consisting of central processing facilities, an onshore pipeline, an offshore pipeline and mooring tower, a floating storage and off-loading (FSO) vessel, as well as supporting infrastructure.
The overall development is currently 95 percent complete.
Banyu Urip has contributed around 30,000 bopd since 2009. An extra 10,000 bopd has also been delivered since late last year.
Under an initial plan, operation of the temporary facilities, most of the equipment for which has been leased, would have been terminated.
The option to maintain the temporary facilities so that production levels could be increased was introduced late last year, however, no definite decision was taken until Thursday following the Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said’s visit to the Cepu block.
Amien said the production target of 205,000 bopd had been arrived at through a technical assessment to ensure that it would be safe for the field’s reservoir.
The Banyu Urip field is being jointly developed by ExxonMobil Cepu Ltd. (MCL), a subsidiary of ExxonMobil Corp., and Pertamina EP Cepu, a subsidiary of state-owned Pertamina. ExxonMobil is currently the operator of the field.
ExxonMobil Indonesia vice president for public and government affairs Erwin Maryoto said all approvals had been secured to support the higher production.
“We continue to see strong capacity results from the Banyu Urip wells and have proposed increasing Banyu Urip’s full field production from 165,000 bopd to 205,000 bopd. We appreciate SKK Migas’ approval of the additional production, which will help meet Indonesia’s oil production goals,” Erwin said.
Indonesia, a former member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), has been struggling to maintain its oil output to meet growing demand. As a result of past exploitation most of the country’s major fields have been depleted and new limited explorations have only found hydrocarbons in relatively small amounts.
The government is aiming for a national oil output of 825,000 bopd this year. However, concerns have been raised over the target as current production levels remain far below the target, while further pressure is expected as contractors reconsider their activities amid the ongoing plunge in oil prices.
Figures from SKKMigas show that current national production is 763,600 bopd, lower than the 790,000 bopd level at the end of last year. Given a plan to boost Banyu Urip’s output, minister Sudirman was optimistic about the 825,000 bopd national oil production target. (Raras Cahyafitri)
