Indonesia has issued a new regulation to attract investment from oil drilling technology providers in an effort to boost production from existing wells, officials said on Tuesday.

The policy is mainly aimed at the reactivation of idle wells, deputy energy minister Yuliot Tanjung told reporters, as part of efforts to lift oil output to 1 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2029-2030 from currently less than 600,000 bpd.

Once a net exporter of oil and gas, Indonesia’s production in the past decade has been on a steady decline due to ageing wells and a lack of new investment.

President Prabowo Subianto aims to reach energy self-sufficiency under his leadership and energy minister Bahlil Lahadalia has said in the past that reactivation of idle wells could potentially increase oil production by around 200,000 bpd.

Under the new policy, oil and gas block operators will be allowed to partner with technology providers to increase output from old or idle wells or fields, which operators often focus less on in favour of newer, more economical wells.

“Many of these operators need partnership from vendors that have the latest technology,” Yuliot said.

The government has identified around 2,500 wells and more than 100 fields or structures that operators can open up to partnership with such vendors.

Meanwhile, to increase production in the long term, the government is preparing 74 new oil and gas blocks to offer to companies in coming year, Yuliot said.
Source: Reuters