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Geothermics 37 (2008) 217219

Preface

Indonesia: Geothermal prospects and developments

This Special Issue covers geothermal prospects and development in Indonesia. The prospects
include high- and low-temperature resources occurring along more than 5000 km of active, volcanic arc segments. Less than a third of the more than 200 inferred high-temperature prospects
have been investigated during the past 35 years and of these, 20 were tested by deep exploration
drilling. Widespread low-temperature resources, especially those occurring in a back-arc setting,
have not been studied in detail and energy production from these is nil. This imbalance is reflected
in the papers in this issue, which only cover the occurrence and development of high-temperature
Indonesian geothermal systems hosted by Quaternary volcanic rocks.
Little was published on geothermal exploration and development activities by Indonesian
earth scientists and engineers between 1970 and 1995, apart from short papers in the proceedings of Indonesian and overseas geothermal workshops. Although a few papers have appeared
in international journals in the past few years, these resources have not received the attention
they deserve from the scientific community. Of particular significance are the occurrences of
both liquid- and vapor-dominated geothermal resources and their relationship to active volcanism and tectonism and their broad implications to the study of volcanic activity, mineral
deposits, earth processes, and geothermal development. By contrast, geothermal developments
in the Philippines have been described in some detail in special issues of this journal published
in 1993 and 2004. In 2006 it was felt that enough contributions could be gathered to devote
a full issue to the Indonesian resources. The occurrence and distribution of geothermal systems in Indonesia are covered by the first two papers in this issue. The following two articles
are devoted to the exploration and management of the large liquid-dominated high temperature
reservoir at Awibengkok. The fifth describes the partially vapor-dominated resource at WayangWindu.
Hochstein and Sudarman summarize the geothermal exploration in Indonesia and discuss
the characteristics and development of geothermal prospects that were explored prior to 2000.
Comparison with the exploration and development of geothermal resources in the Philippines
provides a useful perspective on Indonesian geothermal development. In both countries, the spatial
density of geothermal resources related to Quaternary volcanism is similar. In the Philippines,
approximately 50 high-temperature and magmatic hydrothermal systems occur along 1500 km
of volcanic arcs; in Indonesia at least 200 such systems can be found along 5000 km of exposed
arc segments. Thus in both countries, three to four systems occur on average per 100 km of

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Preface / Geothermics 37 (2008) 217219

arc length. A similar proportionality is indicated by the number of identified active and dormant
volcanic centres that host high-temperature systems. The comparison indicates that the Indonesian
arc systems constitute one of the largest geothermal resource areas worldwide.
The distribution of high-temperature systems along the Indonesian arcs varies on a regional
scale. Clusters of prospects occur, for example, in West Java where four, highly productive
reservoirs (Awibengkok, Wayang-Windu, Darajat and Kamojang) have been developed along
a 150 km long arc segment. The second paper, by Carranza et al., assesses the prospectivity
potential of West Java by investigating distribution patterns of parameters with positive spatial
association in relation to known geothermal manifestations and Quaternary volcanic centres. Spatial associations with other geological and geophysical parameters, including major faults, gravity
anomaly patterns and the distribution of shallow earthquakes, are also studied. Evidential belief
functions are used to outline areas with a high-geothermal potential.
Up to 45 Indonesian high-temperature prospects were explored in some detail prior to 2000.
Deep exploration drilling of 20 prospects led to the discovery of 13 productive high-temperature
reservoirs and to the development of seven of these for power production, including Darajat
(135 MWe electrical generating capacity), Dieng (60 MWe ), Kamojang (140 MWe ), Lahendong
(20 MWe ), Awibengkok (330 MWe ), Wayang-Windu (110 MWe ), and a 2-MWe pilot project at
Sibayak. The installed total capacity between 2000 and 2005 was 797 MWe . Because of the
high electricity demand on Java, some overproduction (i.e. above nominal turbine capacity) has
occurred since 2002. At Awibengkok this increased its running capacity up to 377 MWe , and
at Darajat to 150 MWe . The electric energy produced by all Indonesian geothermal power stations was 6085 GWh/yr in 2005. For comparison, the Philippines produced, at the same time
9415 GWh/yr from seven fields with an installed plant capacity of 1930 MWe . This attests to
the relatively high capacity factor maintained by Indonesian power plant and steam field operators. Since 2007, the production capacity at Darajat has been increased from 150 to 259 MWe ,
at Kamojang from 140 to 200 MWe , at Lahendong from 20 to 40 MWe , and at Sibayak from
2 to 12 MWe . The total running capacity of Indonesian power stations at the time of this
publication has exceeded the important benchmark of 1000 MWe . Indonesia can therefore
be ranked as third worldwide (along with Mexico) with respect to production of geothermal
power.
These developments provide a reference frame for the three other papers in this issue that deal
with two geothermal fields under exploitation. The contributions by Stimac et al. and Acuna et al.
describe reservoir characteristics and management strategies of the Awibengkok geothermal field.
This resource provided 40% of all geothermal electrical power generated in Indonesia during
2005. Little had been published on this field, which in the past, was known as the Gunung Salak
(Salak-Parabakti) prospect. The Stimac et al. paper is a welcome addition to our understanding
of this large, liquid-dominated reservoir with its fluids of benign composition and anisotropic
permeability structure inferred from detailed well logs and tracer studies. The authors also describe
pre- and post-drilling interpretations of the Cianten Caldera to the west of the proven field that
provide a good case study for evaluating drilling targets based mainly on resistivity data.
Reservoir management of the Awibengkok field is described by Acuna et al. Fluid production
during its 13 years of continuous operation was achieved by drilling deep production and makeup wells with large diameter. Pressure drop in the reservoir induced boiling, resulting in the
formation of a shallow vapor cap. The expanding vapor zone has been efficiently exploited by
shallow, high-angle deviated production wells. A very large volume of separated brine is injected
in-field and along the reservoir margins, presenting the main challenge to field management and
requires close monitoring of production and injection and their adjustment to optimize energy

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recovery. Much of the waste brine and condensate has been injected into a relatively hot but low
permeability portion of the resource, an important development towards enhanced geothermal
reservoir management.
Bogie et al. provide an overview of the more recently developed Wayang-Windu field. Exploration studies indicate that it is probably one of the largest exploitable systems in Java, with an
overall resource area on the order of 40 km2 . Apart from reservoir sectors beneath the smaller,
younger volcanic centres of Gunung Wayang and Gunung Windu, the field includes a large
reservoir located below the older stratovolcano of Gunung Malabar. The reservoir consists of
thick vapor zones that are underlain by a large, coherent, liquid-dominated reservoir. The highly
productive vapor zones are interpreted to result from the boiling in an earlier liquid dominated
reservoir. Wayang-Windu may therefore represent an intermediate stage in the formation of a
vapor-dominated reservoir. Present production, supplying steam to the 110 MWe power plant,
comes from the thick vapor zones tapped by deep, large diameter production wells.
Finally, we acknowledge the patience and efforts of all the authors who contributed to this issue.
We also extend our appreciation to each of the reviewers, including those who assisted with papers
on Darajat, Lahendong and low-temperature resources in northwest Java, even though the final
revisions of these manuscripts did not reach us in time for inclusion in this issue. The management
and staff of Chevron Geothermal Indonesia, the Department of Geology of the Institut Teknologi
Bandung (ITB), PERTAMINA Geothermal Division, and STAR Energy are thanked for their
support and for encouraging publication of the papers. Mrs. Marnell Dickson, former Associate
Editor of Geothermics, originally suggested publication of this issue in 2006. We are indebted to
her for her service to the journal.
(Guest Editor)
Manfred P. Hochstein
Geothermal Institute and Geology Department, The University of Auckland,
Auckland, New Zealand
(Guest Editor)
Joseph N. Moore
Energy and Geosciences Institute, University of Utah,
Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Corresponding

author. Tel.: +64 9 373 7599; fax: +64 9 373 7435.

E-mail address: mp.hochstein@auckland.ac.nz (M.P. Hochstein)
Available online 13 May 2008