Pursuing Drill Target 991 Wells In 2023, SKK Migas Reveals Many KKKS Are Constrained By Rig Availability

JAKARTA - The government through the Special Task Force for Upstream Oil and Gas Business Activities (SKK Migas) has launched 2023 as the year the national oil and gas production enters the online phase.

For this reason, SKK Migas encourages massive exploration by targeting drilling 991 wells by 2023 or 30.4 percent higher than last year's realization of well drilling.

Deputy for Exploitation of SKK Migas Wahju Wibowo said this target was still constrained by the absence of a drill or rig.

"Currently, there are no rigs that are unemployed. If you are unemployed and ready to work and meet standards, let us know and I will call the KKKS who are currently looking for rigs," he said in a discussion with the media quoted on Thursday, April 6.

Wahju added, conditions like this have never happened before where the KKKS experienced a shortage of drilling equipment.

"So the work is too much compared to the supporting industry. The supporting industry still lacks to supply the activities that we are currently carrying out. How do I complete 991 (debking) if the equipment is not available," he explained.

According to him, the challenges in the implementation of the development well drilling program are not only related to the availability of rigs but also the availability of competent human resources (HR).

Each rig operating will have hundreds of workers involved and this is a challenge for SKK Migas and KKKS because from 2016 to 2020 the average number of drilling development wells is around 200 wells.

With the increase in the number of well drillings to 991 in 2023, it certainly requires a larger number of workers with sufficient competence and experience.

"Our challenge is to ensure that the 2023 drilling target becomes very complex because it requires the availability of human resources that have qualified competence and experience, while for the past few years not many people worked on the rig. SKK Migas and KKKS are working hard so that HSE can continue to be applied optimally so that the implementation of drilling activities runs safely and smoothly," said Wahju.

The massive drilling of development wells is a consequence of efforts to achieve the 2030 target, namely oil production of 1 million barrels per day (BOPD) and gas of 12 billion cubic feet per day (BSCFD). In the future, development well drilling must be able to reach above 1,000 wells every year.

"Therefore, we are currently accelerating to encourage the ability of the upstream oil and gas industry support industry, including human resources so that the orchestration of efforts to achieve the 2030 target can be carried out," Wahju added.