P

ertamina Hulu Energi West Madura Offshore (PHE WMO), a subsidiary of state-run oil and gas firm PT Pertamina, has completed the construction of one of three new oil production platforms planned for the WMO oil and gas block off East Java, an official said.

Pertamina’s upstream director Muhammad Husein said Monday that the new offshore platform, the PHE-38B, had been shipped off to the WMO block, which was located 112.6 kilometers off the coast of Bangkalan, Madura in East Java.

The PHE-38B platform will be installed at the firm’s third exploration well in the WMO block, PHE KE 38-5, in response to PHE WMO’s announcement in July that it had discovered new gas and condensate reserves in it.

The company’s data showed the PHE KE 38-5 exploration well has potential reserves of 21 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of gas with 171 barrels of condensate per day (bcpd).

“The installation of the PHE-38B in the WMO block is expected to boost the block’s output on December 21 as the platform is due to begin the well’s production,” Husein said in a statement made available for The Jakarta Post.

The PHE–38 platform was designed to drill six to eight new wells on the block with an estimated production of 7,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) and 35 million mmscfd of gas, the executive added. PHE WMO general manager Imron Asjhari said the firm expected construction on the other platforms for the WMO block, PHE-39 and PHE-54, to be completed in December this year.

All three offshore platforms were constructed by PT Bakrie Construction at the construction company’s workshop in Cilegon, Banten. Bakrie Construction won the tender in January this year and began work on the US$19.2 million contract in May.

According to Husein, the offshore platforms were essential to halt the production decline of the WMO block, which has an average declining rate of 50 percent per year. PHE WMO is struggling to meet expectations from the upstream oil and gas regulator BPMigas as it has yet to achieve its oil production target after taking over the WMO block from Korea-based Kodeco Energy in May 2011.

The company’s executives said that when the firm first took over the block, production was only 13,000 bpd or half of its peak production. There had been no more investments from Kodeco after 2010 due to contract extension uncertainties.

Currently, the WMO block produces around 12,000 bpd and 160 mmscfd of gas. With operation of three new production platforms, the company estimates that output will hit an average of 16,000 bpd of oil by the end of 2012.