OREANDA-NEWS. ExxonMobil announced today the successful and safe startup of the onshore central processing facility at the Banyu Urip field in Indonesia, helping increase production to more than 130,000 barrels of oil per day.

With the central processing facility now online, production will continue to increase in the coming months. Once full field production is reached, Banyu Urip will represent approximately 20 percent of Indonesia’s 2016 oil production target.

“This milestone demonstrates ExxonMobil’s project management expertise and illustrates the strong partnerships we share with our Indonesia co-venturers and contractors, the government, and the community,” said Neil W. Duffin, president of ExxonMobil Development Company. “Our top priority has always been the safe and cost-effective delivery of a reliable project that would result in decades of oil production for Indonesia.”

Banyu Urip is expected to produce 450 million barrels of oil over its lifetime. The project consists of 45 wells producing from three well pads, an onshore central processing facility, a 60-mile onshore and offshore pipeline and a floating storage and offloading vessel and tanker loading facilities in the Java Sea. ExxonMobil, partnering with PT. Pertamina EP Cepu and the Cepu Block Cooperation Body, commenced production from Banyu Urip in late 2008, and output has increased as additional facilities were brought online in 2014 and 2015.

“Banyu Urip is helping drive economic growth in Indonesia and has led to the training and employment of thousands of Indonesians,” Duffin said.

Banyu Urip has been successfully developed by five Indonesia-led contractor consortiums responsible for engineering, procurement and construction. Together they employed more than 17,000 Indonesian workers at peak levels, representing 95 percent of the project’s overall workforce, and utilized more than 460 Indonesia subcontractors.

ExxonMobil Cepu Limited, project operator, has a 45 percent interest in Banyu Urip, PT. Pertamina EP Cepu holds 45 percent and four local government entities under the Cepu Block Cooperation Body – PT. Blora Patra Hulu, PT. Petrogas Jatim Utama Cendana, PT. Asri Darma Sejahtera, and PT. Sarana Patra Hulu Cepu – hold the remaining 10 percent.

ExxonMobil expects to increase its global production volumes in 2015 to 4.1 million oil-equivalent barrels per day. The volume increase is supported by the ramp up of projects completed in 2014 and the startup of major developments in 2015.