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RI looks to China to help boost production from aging oil fields
The government is waiting for follow-up from China's Sinopec on five depleting oil fields operated by Indonesia's Pertamina EP.
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The Pertamina Hulu Energi (PHE) Offshore North West Java (ONWJ) oil and gas rig is pictured on April 2, 2023, in the waters off Indramayu, West Java. (Antara/Aditya Pradana Putra)
T
he government is looking to partner with Chinese state-owned oil and gas company Sinopec to set up enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects in several depleting oil fields in the country.
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arifin Tasrif said that Indonesia would like to form the partnership through its state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina’s subsidiary Pertamina EP.
“For cooperation in the application of technology, we are collaborating with China. There has been a response from Sinopec for five Pertamina EP fields,” he told reporters in Jakarta on Friday. “Now we are just waiting for further follow-up.”
He said the fields are in Sumatra and Kalimantan, namely Rantau, Tanjung, Pamusian and Jirak. Other include the Zulu fields in Bekasi, West Java.
Oil recovery is an alternative method for increasing oil production in addition to exploration activities, as it involves injecting chemicals into oil wells to push the remaining oil up from the depleting reservoirs. EOR is just one of many alternate methods for oil recovery.
Read also: Chinese firms begin study on oil and gas potential in eastern Indonesia
Arifin said that China has advanced EOR technology to increase oil production, adding that it could help increase the rate of oil extracted from depleting oil fields to 50 percent. The highest rate in Indonesia currently stands at 30 percent.
