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Sumatran forest fires, Karawang oil leak strain oil and gas production
Oil production reached 745,000 barrels per day (bpd), 98.68 percent of this year’s production target of 755,000 bpd.
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An offshore oil rig operates in the Mahakam Block. The Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKKMigas) said oil and gas production fell short of target because of forest fires on Sumatra and an oil leak in one of state-owned company Pertamina's oil wells in the Offshore North West Java (ONWJ) Block in Karawang regency. (Tempo/SG Wibisono)
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fall in commodity prices and two environmental disasters have contributed to declining oil and gas production and investments in the third quarter of this year.
According to the latest data issued by the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKKMigas), oil and gas production reached a total of 1.8 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), which equals 90 percent of this year’s targeted 2 million boepd stipulated in the annual state budget.
Oil production alone reached 745,000 barrels per day (bpd), down a marginal 1 percent from the previous quarter and 98.68 percent of this year’s production target of 755,000 bpd.
The lower-than-expected oil production was due to the forest fires that ravaged Sumatra island and the massive oil leak from one of state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina’s wells in the Offshore North West Java (ONWJ) Block in Karawang regency, SKKMigas head Dwi Soetjipto said in Jakarta on Oct. 24.
“We had to stop some production in the Rokan block (in Sumatra) for safety reasons,” he said. “And because of the [oil spill], some expected oil lifting did not happen."
He added that lifting at the Rokan block was stopped for about a month because of the forest fires, which peaked in September this year, but stakeholders expected it to resume operations next month.
The aforementioned leak occurred in one of three oil wells owned by Pertamina at the ONWJ Block in early August caused a large oil spill in the surrounding waters.
