PT Pertamina of Indonesia has taken over the operations of the Rokan oil and gas block on Sumatra Island from the US-based oil and gas company Chevron. The transfer was carried out after the expiration of the contract held by Chevron Pacific Indonesia, which owns 100% of the operating interest in the block.
By the end of this year, the state-owned company's goal is to increase the block's oil production to 165,000 barrels per day. The Indonesian company plans to drill 161 new wells in the block between August and December to increase production.
According to Reuters, Rokan is said to be Indonesia's second-biggest crude oil-producing block. At the end of July, its daily production was 160,500 barrels (bpd) and 41MMcf of natural gas. Pertamina CEO Nicke Widyawati stated that the company intends to invest more than US$2bn in the Rokan block by 2025. Next year, the company plans to drill 500 new wells in the block.
The Rokan block was discovered in 1941 and production began in 1951. It covers seven counties/cities in Riau Province, including five major oil fields, Duri, Minas, Bekasap, and Kotabatak, as well as many smaller oil fields. Duri, the block's largest producing field, went live in 1985.
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