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Mahakam’s oil and gas production plummets
State-owned energy giant Pertamina has seen a significant drop in oil and gas production from the Mahakam block, the largest gas field in East Kalimantan, just a month after the company acquired the block
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State-owned energy firm Pertamina delivers on Thursday its first LNG cargo with a volume of 2 billion British thermal units from the Mahakam block in East Kalimantan to a floating storage and regasification unit operated by PT Nusantara Regas in West Java on Jan. 4 (JP/Ben Latuihamallo)
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tate-owned energy giant Pertamina has seen a significant drop in oil and gas production from the Mahakam block, the largest gas field in East Kalimantan, just a month after the company acquired the block from France's Total E&P Indonesie and Japan's Inpex at the beginning of this year.
Mahakam’s ready-to-sell production averaged 31,053 barrels of oil per day (bopd) and 969 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of gas throughout January, below the original targets of 48,271 bopd and 1,110 mmscfd as stated in Pertamina’s 2018 work program and budget.
In 2017, the Mahakam block produced 52,000 bopd of oil and 1,255 mmscfd of gas, respectively accounting for 6 percent and 20 percent of Indonesia’s oil and gas lifting that year.
Wisnu Prabawa Taher, head of communications at the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKKMigas), has urged Pertamina to step up efforts to meet the targeted production levels.
“It is crucial for Pertamina to meet the target, especially in terms of gas production, because Mahakam supplies gas to the Badak liquefied natural gas [LNG] plant in Bontang [in East Kalimantan],” Wisnu said on Tuesday.
“If the gas supply is below the target, then LNG distribution [from the plant] will not meet a previously agreed commitment.”
Throughout January, Mahakam supplied 966 mmscfd of gas to the Badak LNG plant, below the original target of 1,108 mmscfd.
Pertamina upstream director Syamsu Alam, meanwhile, said the company’s performance concerning Mahakam should be evaluated after one full year, not after just one month. (bbn)
