According to Pertamina upstream director Dharmawan H. Samsu, one new oil reserve was found in Benewangi Well #J-01 in Riau province, with a projection rate of 540 barrels of oil per day (bopd).

The new oil reserve was found in a joint operation by PT Pertamina Hulu Energy, a Pertamina subsidiary, and PT Bumi Siak Pusako-Pertamina Hulu, Darmawan said in a statement received on Wednesday.

“Pertamina Hulu Energy has identified a number of basement plays in the area surrounding Benewangi, with projected resources of 500 million barrels of oil [MMBO]” he said.

Meanwhile, in February, PT Pertamina EP, another Pertamina subsidiary, also found oil and gas reserves in Randuwangi well in Subang, West Java, with projected prospective resources of 15 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBOE).

“In the [first] quarter, Pertamina EP also found gas and condensate reserves at Pertamina EP Asset 4 areas in Toili subdistrict, Banggai regency, Central Sulawesi,” Darmawan added.

This year, Pertamina is strengthening its upstream business by drilling 346 wells, 27 of which are exploration wells, double from last year, he said.

He added that Pertamina had allocated US$200 million for a seismic program to assure that the found reserves could be turned into production. (bbn)

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