Natural gas supply from Arun estimated to run dry in 2014

JAKARTA (JP): PT Arun Natural Gas Liquefaction (NGL), a subsidiary of the State-owned Oil Company (Pertamina) located in the northern tip of Sumatra, may have to stop production by 2014 when its supply from the Arun gas field runs out.

Vice President of PT Arun NGL, Indra Kartasasmita, said in a hearing with Commission VI of the House of Representatives here yesterday that unless new gas fields are discovered and developed, the LNG plant will have to cease production in 2014.

"Even before 2014, the LNG plant will have to shut down two of its six production trains beginning in the year 2000 due to the decrease in gas supplies from the Arun field," he pointed out.

He said PT Arun has nonetheless increased production to 135 percent of its installed capacity to meet foreign demand.

PT Arun NGL is 55 percent owned by Pertamina, 30 percent by Mobil Oil Indonesia Inc. and 15 percent by Japan Indonesia LNG Co.

Exploring

Kartasasmita said Pertamina and its contractors are still exploring new natural gas resources in Aceh and other parts of Indonesia in anticipation of the depletion of gas reserves in Arun.

Pertamina and Mobil Oil have discovered reserves in Langsa, East Aceh but they cannot be used for the LNG plant because they contained too much carbon dioxide.

The LNG plant can use gas with a maximum CO2 content of 15 percent.

Kartasasmita told the commission that PT Arun's LNG production increased steadily from 24.1 million cubic meters in 1989, to 26.7 million cubic meters in 1992 and 27.3 million cubic meters in l993, and is estimated to reach 27.7 million this year.

Its condensate output, however, declined from 124,700 barrels a day in 1989 to 105,400 barrels in 1993 and is estimated to decline further to 84,200 this year.

PT Arun's liquefied petroleum gas production also is projected to decline from 1.6 million tons in 1993 to 1.49 million tons this year. (02)