Third Biggest Oil and Gas Producer in Indonesia

Surabaya, Indonesia (News Today) - East Java is the third biggest oil and gas producer in Indonesia after East Kalimantan and Riau.

"With 31 mining exploitation concessions, East Java is the third biggest oil and gas producer in the country," East Java regional secretary Rasiyo said in Surabaya Tuesday.

Besides the 31 mining exploitation concessions, cooperation contractors, East Java also has 32 mining exploration concessions.

"New oil and gas fields had been increasing in East Java, with one of the biggest ones, namely Block Cepu in Bojonegoro regency," he said in a seminar on optimizing hydrocarbon resources in the East Java sediments.

He said Cepu Block has reserves reaching 7.7 trillion cubic feet of natural oil equivalent or 650 million barrels. Total oil potentials in East Java had reached 583.475.5 million barrels, while natural oil 10,301.7 billion cubic meters.

The new blocks are expected to attract investors in oil and gas explorations and exploitations. Investors with exploitations or explorations, will increase the oil and gas supplies in East Java and in Indonesia. The East Java provincial administration continued inviting the upstream oil and gas developing activities to support the oil and gas management system in Cepu Block.

Rasiyo said the oil and gas concessions in East Java are located in the north, but practically none in the south. Rasiyo told the authorized government institutions to conduct a research of the oil and gas layers in the middle and south of the province.

"Most of the oil and gas blocks in East Java are in the northern off shore of the Java Sea, like near Bawean island, Gresik, and small islands in Madura, while those on share are in the west of East Java like Lamongan and Bojonegoro," he said.

In the meantime, Head of BP Migas R Priyono said East Java has 42 basins with oil and gas potentials known since the 18th century, but started being managed only in the last five years. The biggest basin is in the Cepu Block and Surabaya with a high prospect for management, but facing too dense population.

"In Surabaya, because of its too dense population, investors continued hesitating before making exploitations," he said.

Since 1970, oil production are found only in off shore coastal areas, while most of the carbonate rocks containing oil and gas are in Madura like in Cepu. At least 47 villages in Sumenep had been predicted to have oil and gas reserves.

"It has been a 100 years that people are walking on it, but only in the last five years development was started," Priyono said.

He said that one thing is interested is that in East Java compared to other areas, namely the existence of limestone with the prospect for development.
The limestone in Cepu block as far as the Madura strait is second to nothing to other areas, like the limestone in Tulungagung regency.

The limestone deposits in Tulungagung are found in abundance, reaching millions of cubic meters in many subdistricts like Rejotangan, Sendang, Kalidawir, and Besuki. Most of the limestone deposits in Tulungagung is still managed conventionally. The local people are using the limestone in small amounts, for house foundation.

Source : kompas

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