Norman Harsono, Jakarta – Jakarta-based oil and gas company Medco E&P sent its first gas from the onshore Temelat Field in South Sumatra on Monday, providing a boost to national gas production.
The Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Taskforce (SKK Migas), speaking on behalf of Medco and itself, said in a statement on Wednesday that the company had managed to channel gas from one of two gas wells drilled at the field.
"The Temelat 3 Well has begun production, while the Temelat 4 Well is expected to begin production in January 2020, by which time their combined production will be 10 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd)," said SKK Migas spokesman Wisnu Prabawa Taher.
Other than drilling two wells, Medco E&P erected a gas production unit and constructed a 21-kilometer pipeline to channel the fuel into the provincial gas pipe network. Most of the gas will be used domestically, including for electricity generation. SKK Migas estimates total investment at the field at $11 million.
The Temelat Field is one of eight oil and gas projects that SKK Migas had expected to become fully operational in this year's fourth quarter. Six of the other projects, like Medco's Temelat, have yet to commence full operations.