Oilfields development
Oil Output Low on Bad Weather, Indonesia Says
Average oil production had only reached 901,000 barrels of oil per day in January, well below the national target of 965,000 bpd, due to poor weather, a state official said on Wednesday.
“High waves kept us from fixing the problems in offshore oil production during the bad weather,” said Gde Pradnyana, a spokesman for upstream oil and gas regulator BPMigas. “This is not a very good to start this year.”
He blamed the La Nina climate phenomenon for the unseasonably wet weather that has extended the nation’s rainy season.
Oil production at Chevron Pacific Indonesia, one of the country’s largest producers, fell by 40,000 bpd to 50,000 bpd for a few days last week, he said. “The heavy oil got frozen and stuck in the company’s pipeline.”
CPI contributes about 40 percent of the nation’s oil production, about 370,000 bpd. It operates oil and gas blocks in the North Duri field in Sumatra.
However, CPI has fixed the pipeline and national oil production is expected to increase to 931,000 bpd this month, the spokesman said, adding, “I hope it will increase gradually to reach maximum production.”
The government has set 2011 oil production targets at 965,000 bpd in its state budget assumptions. The country fell short of its production target of 960,000 bpd last year, managing only 954,000 after several unplanned shutdowns slowed output.
Indonesia’s second-largest oil producer, state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina, said last year that it would be more aggressive in exploration efforts as it pursues its production target of one million bpd by 2015.
Pertamina currently produces 192,000 bpd of crude oil. It expects to increase its output by 5.26 percent to 208,000 bpd in 2011, it said in November.
