JAKARTA, 15 June 2021 - PT Pertamina Hulu Mahakam (PHM) as the operator of Mahakam Work Area, with the support of the Upstream Oil and Gas Special Regulatory Task Force (SKK Migas) and its parent company, PT Pertamina Hulu Indonesia, continued to develop innovations to  maintain oil and gas production from the mature fields in the area through HEX Straddle Packer technology (High Expansion Straddle Packer) to solve the water production problem in the NB-104 well in the Sisi Nubi Field. 

Excess water production could reduce oil and gas production from the well, so the company would need to close the reservoir zones that produced water. One of the challenges in the Mahakam Work Area is the unique and different reservoir characters as it is located in the Mahakam River delta, also known as the deltaic system. 

Due to the different well condition, working to close the reservoir zones are not easy. For example, in the NB-104 well, the reservoir is located under the restriction zone, making conventional methods like tubing patch installation could not be applied. 

The PHM Well Intervention team collaborated with Schlumberger and Interwell to try out the HEX Straddle Packer technology, a technology to install slim dimention packer to bypass the restriction and isolate the target zone with its high expansion capability. Using this technology, the targeted water zone could be closed and the gas zone underneath it could be reactivated. 

The first technology applied in Indonesia by PHM had been successfully installed in April 2021 with SIMOPS (simultaneous operation) mode between Well Intervention (WLI) remote operation and Hydraulic Workover Unit (HWU). The NB-104 well  is now reactivated without further complex intervention. PHM is one of Pertamina Zone 8 Kalimantan Region Upstream Subholding. 

"This technological innovation is one of PHM's efforts to increase oil and gas production so it can be developed sustainably,” said Agus Amperianto, Pertamina Zone 8 Upstream Subholding. “Technological  development is key to open new potentials and has been proven to reduce operational costs," Agus said.