Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Arifin Tasrif inaugurated the Merakes Field oil and gas development project in the East Sepinggan Working Area, East Kalimantan. The investment value of the project reaches US$ 1.3 billion or Rp 18.5 trillion. The project, which is operated by ENI East Sepinggan Ltd, has started onstream in April 2021 and will deliver gas of 368 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) at peak production.
"With the completion of one of the major oil and gas projects, namely the development of the Merakes field, it is hoped that the production and utilization of natural gas in Indonesia" will increase," said Arifin.
Production from the Merakes Field will contribute to the extension of the operating life of the PT Badak Natural Gas Liquefaction (NGL) gas refinery in Bontang, East Kalimantan. Near the Merakes Field location, the Floating Production Unit/FPU is also distributed through gas pipelines for domestic needs of 117 MMSCFD from 2022 - 2025.
"The government continues to encourage efforts to increase reserves, oil and gas production, and optimize the use of natural gas for domestic needs, which currently stands at 63.9%," said Arifin.
The share of natural gas in the current national energy mix should be 19%. Based on Government Regulation No. 79 of 2014 concerning National Energy Policy, this portion is targeted to be 22% by 2025.
"To achieve this target, there are obstacles such as the decline in oil and gas production caused by old oil and gas fields, no new large reserves being found, and the lack of exploration. Therefore, we will continue to boost the fulfillment of domestic gas," said the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources.
On the same occasion, Head of the Special Task Force for Upstream Oil and Gas Business Activities (SKK Migas) Dwi Soetjipto said that this project was previously targeted to be onstream in the third quarter of 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was postponed to April 27, 2021.
He said the Merakes natural gas project will help meet the supply of piped gas needs in East Kalimantan as well as the need for liquefied natural ga domestic and export. The Merakes Field was developed with an investment of US$ 1.6 billion.
Media Indonesia, Page-10, Wednesday, June 9, 2021
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