SKK Migas Approves ExxonMobil Group as Operator of Kedung Keris Field

The Special Task Force for Upstream Oil and Gas Business Activities (SKK Migas) has finally approved the plan of development (PoD)for the Kedung Keris Field in the Cepu Block. Operator ExxonMobil is expected to start production in the oil and gas field in the fourth quarter of 2018.

SKK Migas Deputy for Planning Control Gunawan Sutadiwiria said the oil and gas regulator approved the PoD for the Kedung Keris Field last week. “Production will start in the fourth quarter of 2018 because the production facility has to be built first,” he said in Jakarta, Wednesday (15/6). ExxonMobil had initially expected the field to start production in 2019. (Baca: Kedung Keris Field at Cepu Block Targeted to Start Production in 2019)

Gunawan said SKK Migas has approved the development of one well in the field, and production of 3,800 barrels per day (bpd), although operator ExxonMobil expects the block to produce up to 5,000 bpd.

The Kedung Keris Field will have its own production facility to avoid disrupting activities in the Banyu Urip Field. However, when the Kedung Keris oil production facility is finished, the oil from the field will be stored in the Gagak Rimang floating storage and offloading (FSO) facility. (Read: Government Prepares Regulations for Relocating TWU Refinery Oil at Cepu Block)

ExxonMobil has been waiting for approval of its PoD since April. As the field’s operator, the U.S. company expects the additional crude from the field will maintain the production volume of Cepu Block at a high level. The block’s Banyu Urip Field has reached peaked production exceeding 165,000 bpd.

ExxonMobil discovered crude reserves in the Kedung Keris Field in 2011. The field is in the Cepu Block working area, which is located in Sukoharjo village, Bojonegoro district, East Java Province, some 14 kilometers from Banyu Urip Field, which was discovered in 2001.

ExxonMobil’s official website says that the Kedung Keris-1 well, which was drilled on land to a depth of 7,032 feet or 2,143metres, discovered a layer of oil 561 feet (171 meters) wide in the targeted carbonate zone. This well contains reserves of up to 20 million barrels. (Read: Cepu Block Boosts Production, SKK Migas Concerned Reserves Will Deplete Quickly)

Oil production in the Cepu Block, meanwhile, was just 148,900 barrels per day (bpd) in January-May 2016, falling short of the 2016 State Budget target of 161,000 bpd.