On March 16th, 2024, AAPG ITB hosted an in-person seminar featuring guest speakers Mr. Ivan Kurnia (A lecturer at Petroleum Engineering ITB) and Mr. Dominico Setyanto (An Energy Practitioner at SLB). This article will delve into the topics covered in the seminar.
The Role of Multidisciplinary Approaches in Oil & Gas
As oil and gas consumption increases every year, the industry faces increasingly complex challenges. The oil and gas industry must continue to adapt to ever-increasing demand to adapt to technological advances as well as changes in legislation, the economy, and the environment. In facing these challenges, a multidisciplinary approach becomes increasingly important.
What is oil and gas?
Oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that’s composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface-active. Most oils are unsaturated lipids that are liquid at room temperature. Meanwhile, gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter. The others are solid, liquid, and plasma.
How to get oil and gas?
A precise cutting technique called drilling is used to make holes or wells in the surface of the earth for a variety of uses, including the extraction of minerals, the extraction of oil and gas, and the access to water supplies. Using this technique, a drill bit rotates to create a circular cross-sectional hole in solid materials. To reach the required depth, specialized equipment is used to bore through layers of rock, dirt, or other materials. The drilling procedure usually takes 50–60 days to complete. The process starts with cleaning and leveling the ground, then setting up a drilling rig to start the borehole and put steel pipes into the well. A specialized fluid called drilling mud is used to control downhole pressures, maintain the drill bit’s temperature, and provide information about the geological formations being drilled.
The Oil and Gas Industry
The three primary segments of the oil and gas industry are known as upstream, midstream, and downstream, and they each correspond to distinct phases of the supply chain.
- Upstream: The extraction of natural gas and crude oil from subterranean reservoirs is accomplished by production, drilling, and exploration activities in this segment.
- Midstream: After extraction but before crude oil and natural gas reach refineries or final customers, midstream activities concentrate on the transportation, storing, and processing of these resources. Pipelines, storage facilities, and rail, truck, or ship transportation are all included in this
- Downstream: Refined crude oil is used in downstream operations to create a variety of petroleum products, including jet fuel, gasoline, and diesel. These products are then distributed and sold to end consumers via retail stores like gas stations and businesses.
Upstream-seismic
Seismic surveying uses sound wave propagation patterns through the subsurface to create two or three-dimensional photographs of the Earth. Utilizing sound waves that are delivered into the subsurface, the technique involves watching the waves travel through the rock mass and experience reflection and refraction at certain geological discontinuities. Sensors record the returned waves as they reach the surface. Seismic survey findings may suggest the existence of potential hydrocarbon traps that could one day be the subject of drilling operations.
Upstream Drilling
In the upstream stage of the oil and gas industry, drilling is a crucial procedure that is mostly employed for field development and exploration. Expert drilling teams drill holes or wells deep into the Earth’s subsurface using sophisticated tools like drilling rigs. Seeking and assessing prospective gas and oil reserves beneath the surface of the Earth is the aim of drilling. There are several steps in this procedure, such as setting up the rig, preparing the site, and drilling to the desired depths. Drilling-related data, including geological data and drilling test results, are essential for assessing the wells’ potential for production.
Upstream Production
After drilling is finished and oil and gas reservoirs are found, the upstream segment’s production phase starts. Production crews retrieve oil and gas from the reservoirs and raise them to the surface using specialized machinery and technology. Depending on the reservoir’s characteristics, different production methods—such as naturally flowing wells or ones that need stimulation—might be used. After extraction, the gas and oil are treated and moved to facilities downstream so they can be further refined and distributed. Because it provides the market with resources like natural gas and crude oil, upstream production is essential to achieving the world’s energy demands.
Downstream
Companies engaged in downstream oil and gas production are situated near the final customer or end-user. Their activities commence post-production and extend till the point of sale. Retail stores, petrochemical plants, natural gas distributors, oil refineries, and distributors of petroleum products are among the businesses involved in the downstream process. Those who deliver useable items to end users are included in this industry. Businesses are involved in the marketing and distribution of propane, natural gas, fuel, heating oil, lubricants, insecticides, and medicines.
Companies in the Oil and Gas Industry
- Service Companies: Service firms provide a wide range of services related to oil and gas well exploration, drilling, production, and maintenance. These services include drilling, geological services, well building, completion, and well maintenance. Examples of major oil and gas companies are Halliburton and Baker Hughes.
- O&G Companies: also known as exploration and production (E&P) corporations, are in charge of exploring, developing, and producing oil and gas reservoirs. These corporations frequently own licenses to run oil and gas fields, or they collaborate with other businesses and governments to exploit these resources. Examples are Pertamina, Harbour Energy, and MedcoEnergi.
- Regulators/Governments: Governments and regulatory agencies oversee and manage the exploration, production, and environmental management of oil and gas operations in their respective jurisdictions. They ensure that these activities adhere to local and international laws and standards, to ensure safety, environmental protection, and equitable economic gains from resource use. Dirjen Migas, Kementrian ESDM, and SKK Migas are some examples of regulators.
The oil and gas industry’s broad sectors provide possibilities for people with a variety of backgrounds and skill sets, ranging from highly technical engineering professions to specialized trade skills and company management. Each sector contributes uniquely to the global energy supply chain and presents various challenges and rewards, making the oil and gas business a vibrant and crucial source of employment. So, how do you get there? You need skills.
What skills do you need to have?
- Pray for any opportunity
- Soft skills (the most important!!)
- Attitude
- Engineering mind and concept
- Learning
- Initiative
- Certificates
Professionals wishing to enter or advance in Indonesia’s oil and gas business must align their abilities with the expectations of the industry’s sectors. Investing in continual learning and development in areas such as digital oilfield technology, renewable energy technologies, and regulatory compliance will also be advantageous, given the worldwide shift toward more sustainable energy sources. As Indonesia continues to extract and manage its oil and gas resources, there will be a strong demand for qualified people with a diverse set of technical, regulatory, and soft skills.
Adopting a multidisciplinary approach is crucial for growing Indonesia’s oil and gas industry. By creating an atmosphere in which professionals from diverse disciplines cooperate and create, the industry will be able to manage its complex difficulties more efficiently and sustainably, resulting in stronger sector growth and development. This method not only improves oil and gas exploration, extraction, and processing but also helps the industry adapt to global developments and new energy paradigms.
Potential and Challenges of Indonesia’s Oil and Gas Industry in the Future
The existence of the oil and gas industry is still seen as the main source of energy and one of the largest contributors to the country’s economy, especially for Indonesia as a developing country. Looking at the trend of world oil and gas consumption, it is concluded that oil and gas consumption will continue to grow every year, especially oil and gas consumption in developing countries such as Asia Pacific.
Oil and gas consumption has increased every year, but domestic oil and gas production cannot keep up with consumption every year, which is one of the problems in Indonesia. Oil lifting in 2023 is stuck at 605.5 million barrels of oil per day (mbopd). This decline occurs naturally because there’s been no discovery of new exploration sources. By looking at the current situation, the government continues to take various steps to boost domestic oil and gas production.
The government has made a call and long-term strategy for Indonesia’s oil and gas industry, aiming to produce 1 million barrels of oil per day and 12 BSCFD of natural gas by 2030. Various methods have been used to increase domestic oil production from maintaining a high level of existing production, transforming resources to production, implementing Enhancing Oil Recovery (EOR), water flood to chemicals, and conducting massive and intensive exploration.
In 2022, there have been more than 10 oil and gas resource exploration discoveries that are being exploited by the oil and gas industry in Indonesia. This is one of the efforts to push the production of 1 million barrels of oil per day. The government is also intensively analyzing the potential for exploration of oil and gas resources in Indonesia’s deep sea area. In addition to exploration, the government is also working to optimize the carbon capture storage method to optimize oil recovery in various oil and gas resource explorations.
Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) technology is said to increase oil and gas production by 40%. The use of Carbon Capture technology is one of the strategies to reduce CO2 emissions and mitigate climate change. The most important role of CCUS in the oil and gas industry is by injecting CO2 into oil and gas wells, which is believed to increase oil and gas production.
In the use of CCUS technology, a plan and options for CO2 storage are carried out, with the option of injecting CO2 into depleted oil and gas reservoirs, injecting CO2 into oil and gas wells to increase oil recovery, injecting CO2 for enhanced coal bed methane recovery, storing in deep unused saline water-saturated reservoir rocks and deep unmineable coal seams, and many other CO2 storage options.
Indonesia’s focus on energy development extends beyond oil to include geothermal resources, driven by both economic potential and governmental energy targets. With a significant concentration of geothermal potential, particularly in Java, Indonesia aims to harness its estimated 28.5 Giga Watt electrical (GWe) capacity to become a global leader in geothermal energy production by 2030.
Geothermal plants can be operated up to 95% of installed capacity with an operating time that can reach more than 30 years. The government has targeted geothermal development in 2020-2030 to reach 8007.7 MW which means that the current installed capacity is 2,130.7 MW, there is still a need for around 177 geothermal development projects with a total capacity of around 5,877 MW until 2030.
Indonesia’s geothermal industry boasts unparalleled potential, largely owing to its location in the “Ring of Fire,” characterized by intense volcanic activity along the Pacific Ocean. With over 100 active volcanoes, Indonesia’s geothermal resources are estimated at 28.5 Giga Watt electrical (GWe), comprising 11,073 MW of resources and 17,453 MW of reserves, representing approximately 40% of the world’s geothermal potential.
Writer:
Galih Praditya (AAPG ITB’s Marketing Officer, Geological Engineering 2022)
Erlanka Ezar (AAPG ITB’s Marketing Officer, Geological Engineering 2022)
Editor:
Nayla Raissa (AAPG ITB’s Director of Marketing, Geological Engineering 2021)