Eni finds gas in Krueng Mane, wants 'incentives'<\/p>\n
Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A local unit of Italian oil producer Eni SpA claims to have
\ndiscovered estimated gas reserves of 200 billion cubic feet (bcf)
\nin Natuna Sea, Riau Islands, and has asked for incentives to
\ndevelop the field, a government official says.<\/p>\n
The gas reserves in the Krueng Mane field still have to be
\nverified and certified, the deputy for planning at the Upstream
\nOil and Gas Executive Agency (BP Migas), Zanial Achmad, said on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
\"They (Eni) have not specified what kind of incentives they
\nwant,\" said Zanial.<\/p>\n
He said the company had inquired about an incentive package
\nthe government is drafting to encourage the development of
\nmarginal gas fields.<\/p>\n
\"We do not know yet if this is a marginal field,\" said Zanial.
\n\"They need to certify the reserves and submit a plan of
\ndevelopment to us.\"<\/p>\n
A marginal field is an area that is not economically viable to
\ndevelop using common terms and splits. BP Migas has said that it
\nplans to introduce an incentive package for such fields within
\nthe next few months.<\/p>\n
Gas output from Krueng Mane could be used as an alternative to
\nthe supply planned from Block A in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam for
\nfertilizer producers in the province.<\/p>\n
Output from the Aceh block is vital for the continued
\noperation of fertilizer plants belonging to Pupuk Iskandar Muda
\n(PIM) and Asean Aceh Fertilizer.<\/p>\n
PIM's contract with ExxonMobil for gas from the nearby Arun
\nfield expired at the end of June and AAF was forced to halt
\nproduction long ago because of a lack of gas.<\/p>\n
\"Production (in Krueng) may start earlier than in Block A,\"
\nsaid Zanial.<\/p>\n
\"They will have to build pipelines to get to the mainland,\" he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
The development of Block A has stalled as its operator,
\nConocoPhilips, works out deals with the fertilizer plants on gas
\nprices and with the government on output splits.<\/p>\n
The oil and gas producer is reportedly considering selling its
\ninterest in the block due to security concerns.<\/p>\n
Conoco and ExxonMobil each own a 50 percent interest in Block
\nA, which is estimated to have between 400 bcf and 500 bcf of gas
\nreserves.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/eni-finds-gas-in-krueng-mane-wants-incentives-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}