During the course of the interview, president-director Manaf commented on the company’s objective to increase efficiency in its activities while generating profits for its stakeholders. “We aim to boost oil and gas production in the most efficient way, in order to squeeze every drop of oil from the wells,†Manaf stated. While efficiency is high on the company’s priority list, profitability is also of paramount importance given the tumultuous global hydrocarbons industry. “As a business entity, even if we are a state-owned enterprise, we should be able to generate profits and provide dividends to our stakeholder, the Indonesian government,â€
The discussion continued, touching on Indonesia’s need to increase oil production in order to be less exposed and over-reliant on oil and gas imports. The current level of dependency threatens the macro-economic stability and monetary health of the South-East Asian country. Pertamina EP is deploying its capabilities to maintain and increase domestic production. These efforts will likely serve as an economic driver for competitiveness in industries dependent on oil and gas for energy supply and feedstock.
Recent statistics show that upstream hydrocarbons investment in Indonesia has continued to decline from USD 15.3 billion in 2015 to USD 11.2 billion in 2016. Despite this, Pertamina EP is still planning an aggressive drilling campaign. During the conversation, president-director Manaf stated the need to intensify exploration activities in order to increase reserves and production. “We are planning to drill 70 development wells and 14 exploration wells in 2018, since we just got our new plan of development,†president-director Manaf said.
Exploration investment reached only USD 100 million in 2016 compared to USD 1.4 billion in 2013. However, despite currently attenuate oil prices, Pertamina EP remains resolute in its decision to engage in exploration activities, “We are still aggressive in our exploration campaigns, especially when conducting 3D and 2D seismic surveys, since exploration relies heavily on seismic data,†president-director Manaf told TOGY.
Towards the end of the interview, president-director Manaf noted that the decline in upstream oil and gas investment has had a direct impact on the slowdown in regional economies, and unemployment. This has been especially true amongst contractors, sub-contractors and the supporting industries. “Our activity should impact economic growth in the regions where we are operating,†president-director Manaf stated.
Reporter: PR Wire
Editor: PR Wire
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