Pertamina Lubricants Sends Thousands of Tons of Surfactants to PHR for Rokan Block Oil Production

Manager of the Jakarta Production Unit, PT Pertamina Lubricants Dody Arief Aditya (photo: Maria Trisnawati/VOI)

JAKARTA - PT Pertamina Lubricants reported that throughout 2025 it had supplied thousands of tons of surfactants to boost oil production through the Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery (CEOR) project run by PT Pertamina Hulu Rokan (PHR) in the Rokan Block, Riau.

Manager of the Jakarta Production Unit, PT Pertamina Lubricants Dody Arief Aditya explained that Pertamina Lubricants supplied thousands of metric tons of surfactants used in the CEOR project in two PHR operating areas, namely the Minas and Balam fields.

"2025, we will supply 2 times. The first for Balam is about 250 metric tons and the second for Minas is 3400 metric tons," Dody told the media when met in Jakarta, Wednesday, August 12.

For information, surfactants are an important part of the CEOR technology used to help recover oil that is still left in the reservoir, especially in oil and gas fields that have entered the mature phase.

According to him, the supply of this surfactant plays an important role in recovering the remaining oil in old wells.

In addition to surfactants, Pertamina Lubricants also supplies additional materials in the form of additives needed in the chemical injection process to the reservoir.

"The procurement of materials, so the CEOR material is mainly surfactant, then there are other additional materials that we usually call additives as well, starting from the procurement process of the material, then the second process is the production of the product until we send it to their site," he continued.

Furthermore, Dody said that the production of surfactants domestically was also considered strategic because it had the potential to reduce dependence on imported chemicals in the development of EOR technology. At the same time, the use of CEOR in mature fields is expected to help maintain oil production from reservoirs that still hold reserves.

Present at the same opportunity, Pertamina Lubricants Corporate Secretary, Rika Gresia said that cooperation with PHR is still ongoing. Although the CEOR project is currently still in the pilot project phase, communication between the two companies continues to be carried out to open up opportunities for implementation on a larger scale.

"Yes, it's still going on, and there is still communication with PHR. Hopefully it will also be longer for the full scalenya," said Rika.

In the future, he continued, the CEOR project on a full scale has the potential to increase the role of Pertamina Lubricants in providing chemicals for oil production activities while supporting efforts to achieve national oil lifting targets.