Jakarta (ANTARA News) - PT Pertamina EP and contractors under the Oil and Gas Special Unit are targeting 264,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOEPD) of oil and gas production in 2017.

PT Pertamina EP is a subsidiary of the National Oil and Gas Company.

The target is supported by the business plan of the company, which will be actively conducting drilling of development wells and finding new reserves through exploration wells, D Yodi Priyatna, the vice president of legal relations of PT Pertamina EP, said here on Tuesday.

"Pertamina is targeting 85,000 barrels of oil output per day and 1,041 million cubic feet of gas per day in 2017," Yodi noted, adding that the oil production target is the same as that of last year.

According to him, oil production during January to November last year was 84,045 BOEPD or 99 percent of the target. Gas production during the year to November was 993 MMSCFD or 97 percent of the target of 1,020 MMSCFD (million cubic feet of gas per day).

In 2017, Yodi added, Pertamina plans to manage 61 development wells throughout its working area in order to achieve the production target and restrain the rate of natural production decline.

"We are also expecting 14 exploration wells to be drilled throughout 2017," he said, adding that the number of exploration wells is more than the 11 wells drilled in 2016.

The number of exploration wells in 2017 is set based on the discovery of resources amounting to 113 MMBOE (million barrels of oil equivalent). In addition, there will be 48 exploitation wells in 2017.

According to Yodi, Pertamina EPs net profit for 2016 is quite promising. Of the US$521 million target, the profit realization up to November 2016 was $529 million, or 102 percent of the target.

The estimated profit for the full year (ending Dec 2016) is $536 million, or 103 percent of the target.

" In 2016, the companys health has managed to stay at A level," Yodi said.

He stressed that PT Pertamina EP was also committed to conduct environmental management and community empowerment programs in its areas of operation from Aceh Tamiang to West Papua.

"Thank God our environmental management performance has been appreciated by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry with a Gold rating for Rantau field in Aceh Tamiang and 14 green ranks for other fields. Overall, there is no red rank," Yodi said.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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