Elnusa Develops Chemical EOR Technology

PT Elnusa Tbk is developing chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technology to maintain or even increase national oil production. Elnusa president director, Ali Mundakir, argued that the crude oil production was a high-risk project. The conventional method could only exploit about 30 percent of the existing oil reserves. "Not all oil is extractable. Some projects are constrained by the viscosity of the oil and many others,” he explained on Monday (11/30).

Ali then argued that technology such as the chemical EOR would be necessary to maximize the extraction. Trading as ELSA on the Indonesia Stock Exchange, Elnusa is currently developing a chemical EOR technology through its subsidiary PT Elnusa Petrofin. It also established a strategic partnership with a chemical company from France, SNF, to speed up the development.

Meanwhile, ELSA is applying chemical EOR in Tanjung Field, South Kalimantan, currently managed by PT Pertamina EP, PT Pertamina’s subsidiary. The company performed the EOR chemical injection using the polymer flooding method. The partnership may continue in the Rokan Block when the oil and gas work area located in Riau is under Pertamina's management next year. "Rokan Block’s management change in August 2021 can present us more business opportunities," Ali stated.