PT Pertamina Hulu Energi (PHE), an oil and gas upstream sub-holding company of state-owned energy company Pertamina, recorded oil and gas production of 1.05 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOEPD) in the first half of 2024, including 556,000 barrels of oil per day and 2.86 billion standard cubic feet per day (Bcf/D) of gas, an increase of 0.3 percent from the first half of 2023.

The increase in production was driven by a variety of activities, including drilling, workover, well maintenance, enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and enhanced gas recovery (EGR).

By June 2024, PHE was able to complete drilling on six exploration wells and 334 development wells. In addition, PHE also completed workovers on 476 wells and maintenance work on 17,436 wells compared to the same period in 2023.

“Earlier this year, PHE discovered new oil and gas reserves while drilling the Anggrek Violet wells in South Sumatra, Pinang East-1 in Riau and Julang Emas (JLE)-001 in Central Sulawesi,” said Arya Dwi Paramita, PHE’s corporate secretary, in a statement on Thursday, August 15, 2024.

He said PHE also recorded a 198-kilometer 2D seismic survey at 2D Amalia Seismic in South Sulawesi. At the same time, 3D seismic has increased by 413 percent compared to the same period last year, with 1,978 square kilometers recorded up to June 2024. The 3D seismic survey is dominated by activities in the eastern part of Indonesia, including in Seram in the Moluccas and Bone in South Sulawesi.

As of June 2024, PHE has discovered 93 million barrels of oil equivalent of proven oil and gas reserves. The proven reserve discovery includes 41 million barrels of crude oil and 305 million standard cubic feet of gas reserves.

Arya said that in the pursuit of net zero emissions, PHE has signed a carbon capture collaboration with ExxonMobil to develop the Asri Basin CCS hub with potential CO2 storage and a new business opportunity in decarbonisation in Southeast Asia.

The aim of this cooperation is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and promote economic growth through investment, job creation and increasing government revenues.

PHE has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with PT Sucofindo to explore the potential and implement ISO in Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS).

Using CCUS and CSS technology, PHE has the option to utilize CO2 and inject it into the depleted reservoir for EOR/EGR or store it as lift and injection for emission reduction.