The Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Task Force (SKK Migas) along with Contractor Cooperation Contract (KKKS) Prima Energy Northwest Natuna Pte. Ltd. (PENN) has concluded discussions on the revision of the plan of development (PoD) I for the Ande-Ande Lumut (AAL) oil field. The revised PoD has been approved by Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Arifin Tasrif on March 5, 2024.
The AAL oil field, characterized by heavy oil, is located in the waters of West Natuna Sea, 20 kilometers from the Malaysian border and approximately 260 kilometers from the nearest land of Matak, Anambas. Deputy for Exploration, Development, and Area Management of SKK Migas, Benny Lubiantara, said that the development of the AAL oil field is a considerably challenging activity due to its remote location and border area. “The nature of the oil in the reservoir is heavy oil, and there is a tendency for the layers to have sand problems that require special handling, resulting in relatively high operational costs,” Benny said in a media statement on March 28, 2024.
The AAL field holds promise in increasing national oil production, considering the continuous demand for oil. It will also be a backbone in achieving the target oil production of 1 million barrels. Mitigation efforts related to these risks are incorporated into this PoD revision, where the project will be implemented in two phases. The production facility scenario involves the use of a central production platform (CPP) and floating, storage, and offloading (FSO).
This concept represents a change from the previous concept that used a wellhead platform (WHP) and floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO). The initial phase of AAL development will involve the installation of platform jackets and drilling of seven horizontal production wells to produce oil from both K and G sand layers. Meanwhile, CEO of Prima Energy Northwest Natuna, Pieters Utomo, affirmed that PENN will continue to be committed to developing the AAL oil field until production is achieved by the end of 2026 with a production target of 20,000 bopd.
The challenges of the AAL oil field include unconsolidated sand reservoirs and heavy oil, requiring long horizontal well drilling and specialized lower completion wells to limit water and sand production.
“We believe that by using proven new technologies from other heavy oil fields, we will succeed for the AAL Field,” said Pieters.
PENN will also conduct further studies on exploration activities for existing prospects to add reserves and resources in the Northwest Natuna Working Area.
“We appreciate the Ministry of ESDM and SKK Migas for their collaboration, which has led to the approval of the AAL oil field PoD revision. We will continue our cooperation to ensure smooth progress of this project as planned,” Pieters concluded.
