Publications

Since the national campaign for a massive idle well reactivation program was carried out (2017), as many as 3,000+ wells have returned to operation. In 2022 only, the yearly production contribution from this program reached 20,000 BOEPD, which was a significant contribution to national oil and gas production, considering that these wells were previously in a dormant state. The fact in 2021 well status report, more than 48% of the total development wells that had been drilled in Indonesia stopped operating. These wells were shut in due to various problems and issues, from reservoir, wellbore, production facility, and down to market demand. Efforts to restore these wells are contained in the first pillar of the SKK Migas IOG 4.0 transformation, concerning improving existing asset value by putting the right enablers. A Focused Group Discussion was held involving oil and gas operators in Indonesia with the most number of idle wells to build strategies that can be implemented for this idle well reactivation campaign. The campaign aims to reduce idle well inventories, support production gain, and monetize remaining opportunities through reactivation. The cost of idle well reactivation has been proven to be economically attractive, increasing the value and efficiency of the asset. Identifying the remaining potential and the problems with these wells is being carried out intensively. Before putting it back online, well condition and integrity must be checked to meet safety standards. Data availability is the major obstacle, especially for wells that have been shut in for quite a while. The operators have developed a methodology for screening the well for reactivation candidates to find the quick win for immediate reactivation and building the well status database for longer-term activity. The well-by-well analysis comes with the recommendation: to reactivate or permanently secure the well through an abandonment program.