Kutai Kartanegara – PT Pertamina Hulu Mahakam (PHM) has completed the Handil Rejuvenation Program at Handil Field, one of the main oil fields in the Mahakam Working Area (WK) in East Kalimantan that has been operating for more than 50 years. The program aims to improve the reliability of production facilities in order to maintain the sustainability of upstream oil and gas operations while supporting the achievement of energy self-sufficiency in line with the Indonesian Government’s Asta Cita agenda.

The Handil Rejuvenation Program is an initiative to revitalize wells and supporting production facilities, extending the operational life of mature fields, improving fluid flow reliability, and maintaining sustainable asset productivity. The program involved a planned shutdown, a temporary, scheduled suspension of operations carried out for maintenance, repair, upgrading, or modification.

President Director of PT Pertamina Hulu Indonesia (PHI), the parent company of PHM, Sunaryanto, stated that following the implementation of the rejuvenation program and maintenance of the Central Processing Area (CPA) production facilities, Handil Field resumed operations with production reaching 15,020 barrels of oil per day (bopd), approximately five percent higher than before the planned shutdown. “The production increase was supported by a more optimal process system and compressor performance following the facility maintenance activities,” he said.

Sunaryanto, commonly known as Anto, reaffirmed the Company’s commitment to safety and security aspects in upstream oil and gas operations as a national vital object. “Through the Handil Rejuvenation Program and various facility reliability improvement activities, PHM continues to demonstrate its commitment to maintaining asset integrity, enhancing operational safety, and supporting the sustainability of oil and gas production as well as national energy security,” he added.

The Handil Rejuvenation Program has been prepared since 2023, beginning with program approval processes involving SKK Migas and PT Pertamina Hulu Energi (PHE), followed by detailed engineering completion, material procurement, fabrication, installation, and tie-in execution (final connection to the existing system) conducted from April 8–19, 2026. The tie-in activities were carried out simultaneously with maintenance work at the Central Processing Area (CPA) production facilities to ensure system safety and integrity.

During this period, PHM also took the opportunity to implement various long-term maintenance and integrity improvement programs for production facilities. The activities included maintenance of four compressors and eight vessels, completion of production facility integrity works, and implementation of two pipeline inspection programs using Intelligent Pigging or Inline Inspection (ILI) technology.

These maintenance and integrity enhancement initiatives were based on evaluations of the operational age and condition of mature facilities at the Handil Field CPA, including the 20-inch and 16-inch main pipelines. The assessment results indicated the need for facility upgrades to ensure continued compliance with safety and reliability standards. In addition, the safety shutdown system—an automatic safety system designed to partially or fully stop operational processes when certain conditions are detected—also required rejuvenation and modernization.

PHM replaced 350 meters of the CPA’s main pipeline, retrofitted the Distributed Control System (DCS), and upgraded the Fire & Gas (F&G) System. The work was carried out under strict occupational health and safety supervision since November 2024, covering all installation preparations for pipeline deployment, cable installation, support installation, spool fabrication, material lifting, working at height, and various hot work activities. This approach was implemented to minimize impacts on Handil Field production continuity.

General Manager of PHM, Setyo Sapto Edi, emphasized that the entire scope of work was conducted in accordance with strict HSSE (Health, Safety, Security, and Environment) procedures and Company safety standards. “The complex full shutdown activities involved nearly 1,000 personnel operating around the clock, issuance of 242 work permits, execution of 45 hot work naked flame (NFL) activities, and a total of 241,176 working hours or man-hours,” Setyo explained. Throughout implementation, PHM ensured that all work complied with safety procedures, including work permit processes, field supervision, risk mitigation, and high-risk work controls, to safeguard workers, facilities, and the environment.

Through cross-functional collaboration and a strong commitment to HSSE, the Handil Rejuvenation tie-in activities and related works were completed safely, with no recordable injuries, and finished one day ahead of schedule. In addition, actual production losses were recorded as lower than the initial estimate.

PT Pertamina Hulu Mahakam (PHM) is one of the subsidiaries of PT Pertamina Hulu Indonesia (PHI) in Zona 8, managing upstream oil and gas operations and businesses in accordance with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles within the Mahakam Working Area in East Kalimantan. As a Production Sharing Contract Contractor for the Government of Indonesia, represented by SKK Migas, PHM, together with other PHI subsidiaries and affiliates, continues to implement various innovations and technological applications to deliver safe, efficient, reliable, compliant, and environmentally friendly energy in support of sustainable national oil and gas production and the realization of #EnergiKalimantanUntukIndonesia. For more information about PHM and PHI, please visit https://phi.pertamina.com.