Upstream Oil and Gas Investment is Still Promising, Says Energy Minister

MINISTRY OF ENERGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES

REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA

PRESS RELEASE

NUMBER: 199.Pers/04/SJI/2021

Date: 9 June 2021

Upstream Oil and Gas Investment is Still Promising, Says Energy Minister

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (EMR) Arifin Tasrif witnessed the shipment of the 700th lifting of Cepu Block crude oil in Tuban, East Java on Wednesday (9/6). This cargo consists of the government's share of the oil and that of the participating interest holders, or the Participating Interest Cooperation Agency (BKS PI) of Cepu Block.

The shipment marks an important milestone for Indonesia's energy security and promises hope that Indonesia's upstream oil and gas potential is still promising.

"Our appreciation goes to Exxon Cepu for the efforts it has made, from finding the 450 million barrels reserves to identifying the 940 million barrels source. Production has started since 2016, from initially 160,000 barrels per day until more than 200,000 barrels per day today. What an extraordinary achievement," said Arifin.

Arifin thought that such achievement was only possible with hard work and excellent technical capabilities.

"We hope the capability can continue to be developed to optimize the oil and gas production in Indonesia. We'll work together, we'll share knowledge, to get optimal results for the welfare of the Indonesian people," Arifin continued.

Additionally, Arifin appreciated the practice of work safety rules so that there had never been any work accidents since the project started operation.

"We hope the existing potentials can be developed immediately and turned into reserves, so then the production process can be carried out," said Arifin.

The oil production at Banyu Urip Field of Cepu Block started in 2008, while the main production facilities started operating in Q4 2015.

"Banyu Urip Field is already at a stable plateau production level, with a production rate of more than 220,000 barrels per day (bopd) for five years. This plateau production rate is much higher than the plan in the PoD, which was previously estimated at 165,000 bopd on average for two years," said Head of Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Task Force (SKK Migas), Dwi Soecipto.

Based on technical assessments, the oil reserves of Banyu Urip Field have more than doubled to 940 million barrels of oil from its 450 million barrels of oil during the Final Investment Decision (FID). However, as with other reservoirs throughout the world, the oil production level of Banyu Urip Field has now started to decline naturally.

"The realized reserves and production of Cepu Block opens up the fact that the oil and gas reserves potential in Indonesia is still promising. Currently, SKK Migas continues to facilitate ExxonMobil and its partners in Cepu Block to discuss various initiatives to manage the decline in production that has begun to occur, including exploring new opportunities in Cepu Block," Dwi concluded. (IY)

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