Arun gas output back to normal

Arun gas output back to normal

Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Gas output in the Arun field, operated by oil and gas company PT
ExxonMobil Oil Indonesia (EMOI), in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, has
returned to normal following a leak discovered in a pipeline last
week.

Company spokeswoman Deva Rachman said on Sunday that the field
was back in full swing starting on Saturday evening, three days
after gas flow was cut to 300 million standard cubic feet a day
(mmscfd) as repairmen rushed to the leakage site.

Before the incident, the pipeline transported up to 600
mmscfd.

"There is no impact on LNG schedules," said Deva, referring to
the liquefied natural gas produced by the Indonesian branch of
U.S. energy giant ExxonMobil.

Hundreds of residents of North Aceh regency, which the
condensate pipeline passes through, evacuated their houses after
news of the gas leak spread through the area, sparking panic.
The leak was reported by a resident who smelled a foul odor near
the pipeline between Cluster-3 and Cluster-4 in the field.

Although EMOI only asked four families living nearest to the
site to move to temporary accommodation, dozens of other families
followed suit.

"Most residents have returned to their homes," said Deva.

However, it was unclear whether families living near the leak
site had been permitted to go home.

Deva added that experts were still investigating the cause of
the incident.

"The EMOI response team has contained the leaks from the
condensate pipeline," she said. "The team is remaining on site to
do all necessary work to make sure there will be no further
impact on the environment or community," she said.

EMOI is currently the sole natural gas producer in Aceh. Its
output is largely transported to Arun, the country's oldest LNG
plant, to be converted into LNG and then exported.

According to Bloomberg data, in 2003, the company provided
about 1.5 billion standard cubic feed per day of gas to PT Arun.

However, gas output from the aging field has been declining
over the past few years, which has forced the government to
reschedule LNG shipments to its main buyers such as Japan, South
Korea and Taiwan this year.

In August of 2003, EMOI had to close its operations
temporarily when a fire broke out as a result of a grenade
explosion.

North Aceh is one of the districts most affected by the
activities of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Two other large natural gas fields in Indonesia are Bontang in
East Kalimantan and Tangguh in Papua -- the latter is yet to
start production.