Reflecting on the history of the Rokan Block, Indonesia may have to thank the four people sent by the Standard Oil Company of California (Socal) 97 years ago to undertake a geological expedition to the island of Sumatra. The expedition was led by E.M. Butterworth with the geological group of which R.N. Nelson, M.M. Orr, and E.R. Wall. Exploration was carried out in various areas, including Kalimantan, neighboring small islands, and Sumatra, particularly the Aceh region.
The expedition is Socal's first attempt to acquire land to be used for oil exploration in the eastern hemisphere of the world. During the reign of the Dutch East Indies, to be precise in 1930, Socal together with the Netherlands formed the Nederlandsche Pacific Petroleum Maatschappij (NPPM) which was the forerunner of PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia (CPI). At that time, seismic exploration was still in its early stages. NPPM geologists and local workers walk along forest streams looking for exposed bedrock.
Six years later, to be precise, in 1936 Socal together with the Texas Oil Company (Texaco) founded the California Texas Petroleum Corporation or commonly known as Caltex.
However, finding petroleum resources in the Rokan Block is not easy. It took 15 years from 1924 to 1941 to find the area of crude oil reserves in the Duri Field. With billions of barrels of oil below ground level, Duri Field was the largest oil-deposited field in Southeast Asia until the discovery of the Minas Field in Southeast Asia in late 1944.
The discovery also made Indonesia the largest crude oil producer in Southeast Asia at that time. The Pacific oil company Caltex or Caltex Pacific Oil Company (CPOC) then developed the giant Minas Field to reach 15,000 barrels of oil a day at the start of its production until 1952, the first shipment of oil from the Minas Field was made. After more than half a century, Chevron has produced more than 12 billion barrels of oil from onshore fields in Riau Province and offshore fields in East Kalimantan Province.
PERTAMINA ERA
Chevron's heyday in Indonesia by becoming the operator of the Rokan Block is coming to an end. In 2018, the government decided to provide management of the Rokan Block to PT Pertamina (Persero) starting in August 2021. The decision was taken after Pertamina's proposal was more attractive than the proposal Chevron offered to the government.
However, the government also emphasized that the transition period could be carried out as soon as possible. At that time, the Head of the Communication Bureau, Public Information Services and Cooperation of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (EMR/ESDM), Agung Pribadi said that after learning from the experience of the Mahakam Block transition, discussions and preparations for the transition to the Rokan Block were carried out earlier, but were still effective.
"Collaboration will be intensified starting 2019," he said.
In the approved proposal, it was stated that Pertamina would give a signature bonus to the government worth the US $ 784 million. In addition, there is a firm work commitment of US $ 500 million. Pertamina also promised state revenue from the management of the Rokan Block to reach Rp. 850 trillion over the next 20 years.
President Director of Pertamina Hulu Rokan R. P. Yudantoro said that his party had prepared a long-term program to maintain production and curb the rate of decline in oil. At least 44 development wells will be drilled in 2021 after the block is transferred to Pertamina. In addition, another 40 additional development wells are planned in accordance with discussions with SKK Migas.
Chevron is still being asked by the government to play an active role in the transition process. As a result, the company agreed to continue investing in the Rokan Block during the transfer of management.
In December 2020, Chevron also started the first drilling in the Rokan Block after 2 years. In the latest development, Chevron Pacific Indonesia Corporate Communication Manager Sonitha Poernomo stated that he had started sharing Rokan Block data with Pertamina.
Sonitha added that Chevron shared the data with PT Pertamina Hulu Rokan (PHR) as the next Rokan Block operator so that the transition process would run smoothly.
"We hope that the process of transferring the management of the Rokan Block can become one of the points of reference for the transfer of other oil and gas working areas in Indonesia," said Sonitha.
From August 2020 to March 2021, Chevron has submitted all data included in the termination checklist to SKK Migas. The data includes those related to geology and geophysics, licensing, standard operating procedures (SOP), production facilities, land, goods and services contracts, human resources, and community development programs.
In the end, Chevron's trail in the Rokan Block, which is full of history, is only 4 months away. Furthermore, will Pertamina be able to continue the baton that has been held by Chevron for almost a century and keep the promises made previously? Only time will tell.
Bisnis Indonesia, Page-4, Monday, March 29, 2021
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