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pstream oil and gas regulator BPMigas has been evaluating the plan of development (POD) submitted by Pertamina EP for the Tiung Biru oil and gas field located in Cepu Block, East Java.

Newly appointed BPMigas spokesman, Hadi Prasetyo, said the regulator had been studying the possibility of developing the Tiung Biru field not only for natural gas production but also oil. “According to the POD, the field would be developed as a gas production field, but we see the possibility to use its oil for production,” he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

He said the regulator was discussing with Pertamina the development plans for the oil and gas field, with the former aiming to approve the POD by the end of the year. According to the POD, the natural gas would be delivered to local fertilizer or petrochemical companies, he added.

Pertamina EP, the upstream business side of state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina, has sole ownership of and operates the Tiung Biru field, which is located 28 kilometers northeast of Bojonegoro in East Java and 15 kilometers southeast of Cepu in Central Java.

The field is located in the same area as the Jambaran field, which is operated by Mobil Cepu Limited, a subsidiary of US-based ExxonMobil. Hadi said that BPMigas was also looking forward to combining the development of the Tiung Biru and Jambaran fields under one integrated POD.

Pertamina EP has drilled three wells in the Tiung Biru field and four out of seven planned wells in Jambaran this year.

In February this year, Pertamina EP announced that the Tiung Biru field had the potential to produce 2,546 barrels per day (bpd) of oil and 2.75 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of natural gas.

Hadi said that if oil production plan at the Tiung Biru field was approved, it would be better to extract the oil first, before the gas. “If we extract the gas first, the pressure inside the oil and gas reservoir would drop, making it more difficult to get to the oil.” Pertamina EP expects the Tiung Biru field to help the country achieve its national production target of 950,000 bpd this year.

Last year, Pertamina EP failed to achieve its oil output target of 132,000 bpd, producing only 126,000 bpd. BPMigas said the company had lost around 6,000 bpd due to land-related problems and unplanned shutdowns. This year, the company aims to produce 134,000 bpd.