Badak NGL to shut down one train mid this year
Friday, March 18 2016 - 02:09 AM WIB
PT Badak NGL, the operator of the Bontang LNG plant in East Kalimantan, said that it will shut down one train in June or July of this year due to declining gas supplies, and may close down another in 2019 if the problem continues.
?If nothing changes, in 2019 it will leave (only) two trains operating in Badak," President Director of Badak NGL, Salis Aprilian said Thursday.
Badak NGL, which currently operates only four trains, receives gas supply primarily from the Mahakam block, in East Kalimantan, operated by Total E&P Indonesia, in addition to supplies from Sanga-Sanga blok, operated by Vico, and Chevron?s IDD project (Makassar Strait).
As has been previously reported by this portal, gas supplies from Mahakam and Sanga-Sanga have declined as the operators cut down gas production in the wake of oil price drop and as their contracts are set to expire. Total?s contract over the Mahakam block will expire in late 2017, and the government has decided to transfer the block to state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina.
Salis hopes Pertamina to be able to increase production at Mahakam block when the company takes over the block?s operatorship in 2018 to allow his company operates three or four trains.
Each train has a capacity of 400-500 mmscfd, which makes total capacity of four trains at 1,800 mmscfd. By only operating three trains per June or July, this year?s LNG output is estimated at only 152 cargoes, compared to 182 last year.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak