Apart From Rokan, This Region Also Has MNK Potential

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arifin Tasrif. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Arifin Tasrif revealed, there are several areas that have non-conventional oil and gas potential other than Rokan.

"There are still some but the most potential in Rokan," said Arifin when met by the media at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Building, Friday, July 28.

Arifin explained that the areas with the potential of MNK include the areas of South Sumatra and Kalimantan.

However, Arifin said the most potential area was Rokan, which Pertamina Hulu Rokan had just signed on Thursday, July 28.

Regarding the split rules for MNK in the Rokan Block, Arifin said that his party still had to look at the results of the exploration and deepening of the drilling that was being carried out first.

"Current thickening is not easy and the cost is high, so we will detail it by taking existing references, namely Cnina and America," explained Arifin.

Previously, PT Pertamina (Persero), through PT Pertamina Hulu Rokan (PHR) conducted the inaugural tax of Non Conventional Oil and Gas (MNK) wells in the Rokan Working Area (WK).

This tax is the result of a study of the potential of MNK in an effort to support national oil and gas production.

In conducting a potential evaluation study (technical) of MNK Rokan, PHR collaborated with international companies that have proven successful in working and developing MNK resources in the United States.

To support this effort, PHR also involved the MNK Concession Acceleration Team formed by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

Meanwhile, PHR President Director Chalid Salim Said said that MNK's resources in WK Rokan are in the brown shale barrier formation, namely hydrocarbon main parent rocks in the central Sumatra area, and lower red beds are rock formations under the brown shale. This potential is at a depth of more than 6,000 feet.

"At WK Rokan, the potential for MNK is in the Gulamo well area, with a total depth plan of 8,559 feet. This well is one of two vertical exploration wells planned by PT Pertamina Hulu Rokan as the operator of the Rokan work area, for the exploration stage of MNK Rokan," said Chalid.

The plan is for the exploration well drilling operation of MNK Gulamo to use the PDSI rig #42.3/N1500-E in the size of 1.500 horsepower (HP).

As a comparison, conventional oil and gas exploration operations and exploitation in Rokan's working area generally use Rig 350 HP, 550 HP, 750 HP. A large wellpad area (exploratory location) is needed, approximately 2.5 hectares or 2.5 times wider than wellpad in general. In the development stage, this well pad can accommodate around 8 well heads," explained Chalid.

MNK is oil and gas that is made from reservoirs where oil and gas are formed with low permeability.

The main difference in the exploration of conventional oil and gas with the exploration of MNK lies in the location of oil on the earth.

Conventional oil and gas are more easily visible because they are not too deep from the surface. While the MNK is in a deeper layer.

In contrast to conventional oil and gas, MNK is a hydrocarbon trapped in parent rock (shale oil/gas) where hydrocarbons or plastic reservoir rocks are smooth grained with permeability (the ability of rocks to pass particles) is low, which is only economically valuable if produced through horizontal drilling using multi-stage hydrant fracturing stimulation techniques.