Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Arifin Tasrif has asked State energy company PT Pertamina to develop the oil prospect in Buton, an offshore field in Southeast Sulawesi.
Arifin said Buton is estimated to contain oil potential of up to 5 billion barrels. This prospect was identified after the ESDM Ministry pushed for geoseismic mapping throughout 2019 to 2020.
“So, we are currently urging Pertamina to promptly develop the Buton Field,” Arifin said in Jakarta, on Friday, April 19, 2024.
He cited that his ministry is pushing for the monetization of this oil prospect to support the domestic lifting that has been declining in recent years. According to him, about 20 percent of Buton prospect monetization has been able to produce approximately 1 billion barrels of oil.
“We must push for this to move forward, making sure that investors find the rate of return attractive,” he said.
As reported earlier, PT Pertamina Hulu Energi (PHE) has been more aggressive in seeking potential jumbo oil and gas fields in several open areas in eastern Indonesia. PHE has been actively conducting joint studies on the Seram Basin and other basins with Malaysia’s oil giant, Petroliam Nasional Berhad or Petronas.
Previously, Pertamina Hulu Energi’s Corporate Secretary Arya Dwi Paramita said that the company had explored four open fields in eastern Indonesia, such as the Bali-Lombok, Manui, Seram, and Buton fields.
“The current exploration challenge lies in expanding into new frontier areas, searching for big fish oil and gas resources, and accelerating their development until they can be produced,” Arya said in July last year.
He cited that PHE also explored strategic partnerships to maintain the economy of exploration efforts in risky fields in the eastern region. He hoped that the initial exploration results would capture several prospective fields to counteract the natural decline of aging assets, particularly in the western region.
According to data compiled by SKK Migas as of January 1, 2022, there are dozens of basins with potential oil resources reaching 23.6 BBO and gas reaching 271.4 Tcf that have not been explored. On the other hand, condensate potential is projected to reach 955.17 MMSTB and associated gas resources amount to 53.12 Bscf.
Three high-oil-potential basins are located in South Sumatra (3.5 BBO), North Sumatra (2.7 BBO), and East Java (2.7 BBO). Meanwhile, there are three high-gas-potential basins spread across Bintuni (72.7 Tcf), North Sumatra (51.3 Tcf), and Aru-Tanimbar (23.7 Tcf).
