Arun sending last LNG cargo
Wednesday, October 15 2014 - 06:06 AM WIB
The Arun LNG plant in Aceh is sending its last cargo to South Korean firm Kogas) today (Wednesday, ending its more-than-30-year history as an LNG producer.
?That?s right. The last cargo was sent this morning at 8 a.m. Thereafter, the plant will be turned into an (LNG) regassification facility,? Secretary to upstream authority SKK Migas I Gde Pradnyana told Petromindo.com.
The plant relied gas supplies mostly from the Arun field and North Sumatra Offshore (NSO) block, both operated by ExxonMobil. The gas reserve of Arun has been depleted after more than three decades of exploitation.
ExxonMobil Indonesia?s P&GA Manager Erwin Maryto said the last cargo was sent to Kogas.
?A ceremony was held today at PT Arun NGL?s area to mark the shipment of the last cargo,? he explained.
According to Erwin, since it started operation in 1977 through Oct. 15, 2014, the plant has sent a total of 5000 cargoes of LNG to Indonesian traditional buyers in Japan and South Korea.
Erwin said Exxon will continue operating Arun and NSO through the end of their contracts in 2018 and sell their gas and liquid output to the local market as instructed by the government. The firm is not interested to extend the contracts and will return the blocks once the contracts expire, he said.
According to sources, both Arun and NSO combined can still produce around 150 mmscfd of gas and 2500-3000 bpd of condensate. State owned oil and gas firm PT Petamina is said to be interested in both fields? tail gas.
Salis Aprilian, a senior vice president at Pertamina?s Directorate of Gas and Power, confirmed that Pertamina and Exxon are now negotiating on the possibility of the state firm offtaking the tail gas.
?The tail gas amounts to around 130-140 mmscfd,? Salis told Petromindo.com.
Editing by Johannes Simbolon