Pertamina's Inauguration of the First Unconventional Oil Well in Rokan Block

Gulamo, July 27, 2023 – PT Pertamina (Persero), through its subsidiary PT Pertamina Hulu Rokan (PHR), inaugurated the Unconventional Oil and Gas Well (UOGW) drilling in the Rokan Working Area (WK). This drilling marks the Unconventional Oil and Gas potential study result to support national oil and gas production.

The inaugural UOGW drilling took place at Gulamo Field, Bangko District, Rokan Hilir Regency, Riau, on Thursday (27/7/2023). The drilling was officially inaugurated by the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (EMR), Arifin Tasrif, accompanied by the Head of SKK Migas, Dwi Soetjipto, the Director General of Oil and Gas, Tutuka Ariadji, the President Director of PT Pertamina (Persero), Nicke Widyawati, the President Director of Pertamina Hulu Energi, Wiko Migantoro, the President Director of PHR, Chalid Salim Said, and the Governor of Riau, Syamsuar.

In conducting the Rokan Block’s Unconventional Oil and Gas potential technical evaluation study, PHR collaborated with international companies that successfully developed Unconventional Oil and Gas resources in the United States. PHR also involved the Acceleration Team for Unconventional Oil and Gas Development established by the Ministry of EMR to support this endeavor.

Minister of EMR, Arifin Tasrif, stated that the current domestic oil and gas supply is not sufficient to meet the total national energy demand, which leads to imports. Therefore, efforts are needed to reduce import needs by increasing hydrocarbon reserves. Currently, there is potential in Unconventional Oil and Gas, which will be further studied and consulted.

"We still have considerable potential that must be exploited to ensure energy security for society. I congratulate Pertamina, and I am very proud and remind them not to forget to prioritize safety at work," he expressed.

Head of SKK Migas, Dwi Soetjipto, conveyed that the inaugural drilling of the UOGW marks a new era in the national upstream oil and gas industry. The Unconventional Oil and Gas resources potential, which have not been developed, will now be managed to support the increase in national oil and gas reserves.

"In the future, we hope that Pertamina and other upstream oil and gas investors will be more aggressive in studying Unconventional Oil and Gas because of its significant potential. We will provide full support for investments in the Unconventional Oil and Gas sector to contribute in the national oil and gas production increase," Dwi said.

President Director of Pertamina, Nicke Widyawati, added that the UOGW drilling is a new effort to open opportunities in the Rokan Working Area to support national oil and gas production.

"Pertamina is committed to supporting the national energy sector, including achieving the target of one million barrels of oil per day by 2030. One of the efforts is to conduct studies and innovations related to oil and natural gas resources and reserves in Indonesia," Nicke said.

Meanwhile, the President Director of PHR, Chalid Salim Said, stated that the Unconventional Oil and Gas resources in the Rokan WK are in the pematang brown shale formation, which is the main hydrocarbon source rock in the central part of Sumatra, and the lower red bed, which is a rock formation located beneath the brown shale. This potential is located at depths of over 6,000 feet.

"In the Rokan WK, the Unconventional Oil and Gas potential is found in the Gulamo well area, with a planned total depth of 8,559 feet. This well is one of two vertical exploration wells planned by PT Pertamina Hulu Rokan as the Rokan Working Area operator for the Unconventional Oil and Gas exploration phase," Chalid said.

The drilling operation of the Gulamo Unconventional Oil and Gas exploration well is planned to use the large-sized PDSI #42.3/N1500-E rig with a power of 1,500 horsepower (HP). "As a comparison, conventional oil and gas exploration and exploitation operations in the Rokan Working Area generally use Rig 350 HP, 550 HP, and 750 HP. A sufficiently large well pad area (exploration location), approximately 2.5 hectares or 2.5 times larger than the usual well pads, is required. In the development phase, this well pad can accommodate about eight wells," Chalid explained.

Unconventional Oil and Gas (UOG) refers to oil and natural gas produced from reservoirs with low permeability. The main difference between conventional oil and gas exploration and UOG exploration lies in the oil’s location in the earth's layers. Conventional oil and gas are easier to access as they are not too deep below the surface, while UOG is found in deeper layers.

Unlike conventional oil and gas, UOG is hydrocarbons trapped in the source rock (shale oil/gas), where hydrocarbons are formed, or in fine-grained clastic reservoir rocks with low permeability that only become economically viable when produced through horizontal drilling with multi-stage hydraulic fracturing stimulation techniques.

As part of the Pertamina Upstream Subholding, PHR will continue to innovate through the latest technology in the upstream oil and gas industry, to support the established production targets. PHR also consistently operates with a focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) aspects as an upstream oil and gas company that is compliant, reliable, and environmentally conscious.**