Mobil builds offshore facility in Aceh to boost LNG supply

JAKARTA (JP): Energy company Mobil Oil Indonesia Inc. has completed a new offshore gas platform to boost supply at its giant liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Arun, Aceh.

A spokesman for state oil and gas company Pertamina, Ramli Djaafar, said on Tuesday the platform would be erected at the North Sumatra Offshore "A" (NSO-A) block, situated in the Sumatra Straits, 100 kilometers from the Arun LNG plant.

PT Tripatra, PT McDermott and Toyo Engineering built the platform at Batam island, Riau.

Guests at last Wednesday's launching ceremony include Pertamina's president Soegianto, Mobil Oil Indonesia president and general manager Ron Wilson, Mobil Oil's exploration and production head for the Asia-Pacific region Lance Johnson and representatives of contractors.

"The platform will be placed at an offshore area of 354 feet (100.7 meters) deep, which is the deepest water for any offshore platform built in the country," Ramli said.

The platform weighs 7,000 tons and has processing capacity of 450 million cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) of natural gas.

Production at the platform is expected to start in the middle of next year.

Ramli said Mobil was also developing onshore terminal facilities to dispose sulfuric content of the natural gas supplied from the NSO-A block.

Mobil found a reserve amounting to 14 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 950 million barrels of condensate at its Arun contract area in 1971.

The company built a giant LNG plant in the area to supply Japan and Korea, making its first shipment to Japan in 1977.

After decades of operation, the reserve at the Arun gas field has dwindled, forcing Mobil to explore new gas reserves in nearby areas to help the plant survive.

The company has also found gas reserves in the Pase-A gas field and started production early this year.

It has also introduced a new technological innovation -- Under Balance Drilling -- to maximize its gas production rate in the Arun gas fields. (jsk)