OREANDA-NEWS. September 14, 2012. Pertamina Hulu Energi West Madura Offshore (PHE WMO) will reoperate the offshore platform, the PHE-40, which was damaged when hit by a cargo ship in 2010. The reoperation was commerated by the platform sail-out ceremony at Tanjung Priuk, Jakarta, on Monday (10/9). The platform will be delivered to WMO block location, around 70 miles off beach of Sampang regency, Madura. The platform is scheduled for installation at the PHE-40 from middle to end of September 2012, reported the press-centre of Pertamina.  

"Oil and gas production will start in early November 2012," Deputy of Operation Control at BPMigas (Upstream Oil and Gas Executive Agency), Gde Pradnyana, said. Present at the ceremony were the President Director of PHE, Salis Aprilian, and Senior Executive Vice President & General Manager of PHE WMO, Imron Asjhari.

After being hit by the cargo ship on 11 August 2010, PHE-40 platform (previously named KE-40) has been able to produce 1,600 barrel per day (bph) of oil, and 15 million cubic feet per day of gas. The field started its production in 2005. It reached peak production of 9,500 bph and 38 million cubic feet of gas per day in 2007.

As reported, due to the accident, the position of PHE-40 platform slants up to 17.5 degree. Although it is in safe position that does not cause environmental pollution, the platform must undergo repair to be able to operate for oil and gas production again.

"The reoperation of the PHE-40 platform is hoped to increase the production of PHE WMO," Gde said.

Currently, the oil production of WMO block reaches around 10,500 bph. Beside operating PHE-40 platform, PHE WMO is preparing to operate three new platforms. Now they are still in final construction process and are scheduled to be ready by end of September, as stipulated in the construction contract.

The three new platforms are named PHE-38B, PHE-39 and PHE-54. They are crucial to increase oil and gas production at WMO Block. For 2012, PHE WMO plans to drill 21 wells, comprise nine exploration wells, 12 development wells, and 15 work over wells.

"By the end of the year, the production of PHE WMO is se to rise to around 21,000 bph," Salis said.

WMO Block used to produced 26,000 bph in 2010. However, the block production decline at high rate. To balance out the rapid decline, the Company rapidly add other drilling facilities and providing new facilities.

The intense effort in adding new wells cannot instantly increase the production capacity of WMO Block significantly. It is because when WMO Block was handed over by the Government to PHE as one of Pertamina's subsidiaries, the block was experiencing rapid decline of production from its old wells.

When handed over on 7 May 2011, the production of WMO Block was around 13,000 bph, or around 50% of its peak production. This decline in production was given, considering there was no new investment done since August 2010, following the unclear WMO Block management contract renewal issue.

According to Imron, PHE WMO set target to produce 40,000 bph oil and 210 million cubic feet gas by 2016, or equivalent to 75,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd). To reach that target, he said, PHE WMO would drill more than 25 exploration wells, 75 development wells, and 10 work over wells, as well as perform maintenance of 37 wells and construction of 10 new platforms by 2016.

Gde Pradnyana added that the sail-out today marked a new milestone for Pertamina, particularly Pertamina Hulu Energi (PHE). It is the first time in Pertamina history that the Company build an offshort platform. This marks the technology advancement and better management of the Company that make Pertamina becomes more confident. If in the bygone era Pertamina seemed to pay less attention to upstream activities and more often handed the management of its working fields to foreign parties, in this reformation era Pertamina has shown its capability in managing its own working fields. Pertamina now has become healthier and stronger. In the past, Pertamina only produced aroudn 70,000 barrels, now its production reaches 130,00 barrels and is expected to keep increasing with time.