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T Pertamina EP plans to expedite the start of production from a number of wells, including those located in old fields to boost its output.

Pertamina EP president director Adriansyah said on Friday that the Bunyu field and Nonny-Louise well of the Sangasanga field in Kalimantan would be the company'€™s priority this year.

'€œThey are not included in our work plan and budget. However, we are very reactive with development of the fields,'€ he said.

Based on recent drilling activities in Bunyu '€” one of Pertamina EP'€™s mature fields '€” the company revealed that two wells still held oil resources that could be extracted to boost its output.

Therefore, Pertamina EP, a subsidiary of state-owned PT Pertamina that runs an upstream oil and gas business, is planning to drill eight wells and 55 development wells in Bunyu this year.

Meanwhile, it is also working on the Louise-Nonny development well in the Sangasanga field in East Kalimantan.

Based on a recent test, Pertamina EP found that the well would be able to provide additional production of 1,200 barrels of oil per day (bopd).

Pertamina EP is targeting to report production of 128,000 bopd this year and 1,071 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of gas this year.

According to Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Task Force (SKKMigas) figures, Pertamina EP'€™s production reached 120,600 bopd in 2013, lower than its target of 123,600 bopd.

The company, according to Ardiansyah, has seen flat oil and gas production in the last five years as it has had to work on mature fields with high production declining rate of almost 30 percent.

'€œTo achieve the target, the key is whether we can accelerate findings earlier this year as is the case of Louise-Nonny,'€ Ardiansyah said.

Pertamina has set a total budget of US$2.2 billion this year, with around $1 billion to be used to support investment and the remainder to finance operations.

Another promising project of Pertamina EP would be the Jati Asri well, which is located on the west of Melandong field in West Java.

Based on a recent test, the well is expected to be able to produce 3,110 bopd.

Adriansyah said his firm planned to hold a '€œput on production'€ of Jati Asri well next month. A '€œput on production'€ is required for a company to begin production from a well.

Indonesia, a former member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Nations, has been struggling with its depleted oil fields at a time when energy consumption is growing along with the economy.

Growing consumption has forced the country to import a huge amount of oil and its products, which in turn has hurt its current account balance.

Given the development, the government has been calling for more exploration works to secure more oil reserves. However, industry players have been complaining about the long process to obtain permits for their activities and about complexity of land acquisition.

'€œWe need support, including by not making it difficult for us when we need land,'€ Pertamina'€™s upstream director M. Husen said.

Pertamina is targeting to have 2.2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in production by 2025.