Balikpapan, E. Kalimantan (Antaranews) - The 40-year old Handil oil field in the Mahakam Block, East Kalimantan, still recorded an increase in oil and gas production.
New wells named H-L-174, produces 1,057 barrels of oil per day (bopd) and 2.6 million cubic feet of gas per day (million metric standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd).
"Additional production from the H-L-174 well and other new wells increased the oil production of Handil to 18,207 bopd and gas production to 11.5 mmscfd by 23 September, 2018," Executive Vice President of PT Pertamina Hulu Mahakam (PHM) Sunaryanto said here on Thursday.
The H-L-174 well is part of 17 new wells developed by PHM after the take over of the Mahakam Block by Pertamina from Total Indonesie. Rig Yani, a rig designed specially for delta oil fields in Mahakam has been used in digging the new wells.
Until 2015, the Handil field produced 15,000 bopd of and 30 mmscfd of gas.
Sunaryanto said the production from the new wells is much higher than expectation of 598 bopd. The Handil is part of the oil fields in the Mahakam Block operated by PHM. Other fields include Tunu, Tambora, and Sisi-Nubi, as well as the latest oil field South Mahakam in the Balikpapan Bay .
The Handil field, in an 40 square kilometer swampy area and river in the Mahakam Delta, came on line in July 1975. Handil has 600 wells and 107 of them are active hydrocarbon wells, 4 water producers, and 13 water injectors.
"Oil is found a depth of 1,500-2,700 meters under ground," Head of Communication Division of PHM Handri Ramdhani said.
After years of operation oil and gas no longer flow out on natural pressure, Handri said, adding "we have to use new technology to pump out oil and gas."
Water injection has been used since 1978 to pump out oil in the Handil field and the technology was used for gas since 1995.
Over the past 40 years, the Handil fields has produced 900 million barrels of oil and condensate and more than 1.879 trillion cubic feet of gas. (*)
Reporting by Novi Abdi
