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Pertamina exports first 4,000 barrels of SF-05 drilling mud to Algerian subsidiary
The drilling mud, which Pertamina says has passed a series of environmental and health tests, is to be used by Pertamina Algeria EP in its oil drilling operations.
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Pertamina corporate marketing director Basuki Trikora Putra (sixth left) shakes hands with a truck driver who transported a load of Smooth Fluid 05 (SF-05) drilling mud during the launch of the product's maiden export in Balikpapan on July 4. The state-owned energy holding company exported its first shipment of 4,000 barrels of SF-05 to its Algerian subsidiary, Pertamina Algeria EP. (JP/Stefanno Reinard)
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tate-owned energy holding company Pertamina launched on Thursday its maiden export of 4,000 barrels of Smooth Fluid 05 (SF-05) drilling mud to its Algerian subsidiary, Pertamina Algeria EP (PAEP).
The commodity product was shipped from Pertamina’s refinery in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, which has a refining capacity to produce 1.8 million barrels of SF-05 per year.
Pertamina corporate marketing director Basuki Trikora Putra said that the drilling mud export was valued at more than Rp10 billion (US$708,802).
"This maiden export is a milestone for our SF-05 product. We hope that the product will not just be exported to Algeria, but also to other global markets," he said, adding that the export was made possible through a collaboration between its subsidiary, Pertamina Lubricants, and its Petrochemical Trading team.
SF-05 is an adaptable, synthetic base oil that is used in oil drilling operations. The synthetic fluid has replaced oil-based fluids because it is said to be more efficient.
Basuki said that Pertamina's SF-05 drilling mud had passed the environmental test, the biodegradability test, the LC50 (lethal concentration 50) test on toxicity against marine creatures, the skin irritation test and eye irritation test. The product's test results scored higher than the international standards of the US-EPA and the OECD.
He added the SF-05 matched the needs of its PAEP oil fields in Algeria, which was owned jointly by Pertamina, Spanish energy firm Repsol and Algeria's state-owned energy company Sonatrach.
The SF-05 will initially be used at two wells operated by PAEP, which currently operates 67 wells with a production capacity of 20,000 barrels per day. PAEP eventually plans to use the SF-05 at 12 to 20 wells. (bbn)
