Significantly Decreased, Proven Oil Reserves Only 2.44 Billion Barrels

The amount of proven and ready-to-produce oil and gas reserves in Indonesia decreased significantly. Results of the latest calculation by the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry (ESDM), the amount of proven and ready-to-produce reserves for oil is only 2.44 billion barrels, a drop from the 3.7 billion barrels recorded at the end of 2019. Meanwhile, the proven and ready-to-produce reserves for gas are only 43.6 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), a plunge from 77.3 Tcf at the end of 2019.

Director-General of Oil and Gas at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, Tutuka Ariadji, said that his party calculates the number of proven reserves based on the latest clarification and definition of the Petroleum Resources Management System (PRMS). The number of proven reserves cannot be included in the reserves that can be produced because there have no monetizing activities yet. "Those who state that the definition of proven reserves must have a project. Not just technology, the number of reserves, but there must be work and cash flow commitment planning,” he said on Monday (11/16).

Based on the currently recorded proven reserves and the current daily production level of around 700 barrels per day (bopd), according to Tutuka, oil blocks in Indonesia can only produce up to 9.4 years. "Meanwhile, gas production can take longer. The time frame is 17.7 years if it’s produced with the current production [level]," he said. Until last September, the national gas lifting was 5,502 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd).