Oil And Gas Explorations Remain Low: SKK Migas

BOJONEGORO, E Java, Aug 21 (Antara) - The Upstream Oil and Gas Regulator (SKK Migas) said investment in the oil and gas sectors especially in explorations has remained low over the past several years. "Explorations dropped sharply in the past three years. The interest is still low," Internal Supervisor of SKK Migas Taslim Z. Yunus said when visiting Bojonegoro oil and gas field in the Central and East Java border last weekend. Taslim said so far this year there are only 32 new wells drilled as against at least 100 wells before 2014. "Before 2014, at least 100 new wells drilled for explorations," he said. He said the main reasons for the lack of interest in oil and gas explorations is the price being low, less than US$50 per barrel. "Under the condition, only financially powerful investors or those having fund from retained profit would venture in explorations," he said . Therefore, SKK Migas would take a number of initiatives to convince investors such as by personal approach, he said. "Next week, we would approach at least 10 investors having working areas," he said. He said investment in the oil and gas sector in Indonesia is still profitable despite the low oil price of around US$50 per barrel. "There is still profit margin as the production cost is only US$18 per barrel. Even some investors still have production cost of less than US$10 per barrel, "he said. Taskim said the government through SKK Migas will see that three main producers in the country could keep their levels of oil production. "They are Chevron, Exxon Mobile Indonesia and Pertamina. The three contribute up to 75 percent of our annual production," he said. Data at SKK Migas showed that in the first three months 2017, the country's oil production reached 815,600 barrels per day or 0.07 percent larger than the target of 815,000 barrels per day set in the state budget.