Chevron to continue IDD project: CEO
Saturday, January 10 2015 - 05:18 AM WIB
This was expressed by Watson during a meeting Friday with President Joko Widodo.
"The IDD project should have been developed last year, but it failed to get a permit. In connection with that, Watson has expressed its commitment to the project, and it seems it is in line with the governments aspirations to increase the production of oil and gas," Coordinating Minister for the Economy Sofjan Djalil told reporters after accompanying the president in the meeting.
This portal reported in November that Chevron Indonesia Company suspended the EPC tender process for the development of gas blocks under the IDD project as the company was still waiting for the government?s decision over its request for an extension of its contracts over the blocks.
The suspension of the EPC tender could eventually postpone the production of the blocks from the initial schedule of 2016 and 2018.
In October, a senior official at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said that the company has made a request to the ministry for a postponement of the IDD project due to the higher economic value of the project than initially estimated.
The IDD project comprises of four gas blocks including Ganal, Rapak, Makassar Strait, and Muara Bakau, covering five fields including Bangka, Gehem, Gendalo, Maha, and Gandang. The blocks of Ganal, Rapak, and Makassar Strait are operated by Chevron, while the Muara Bakau block by Eni Spa. According to an earlier estimate, the IDD project was supposed to produce 1,270 mmscfd of gas.
The Bangka field was expected to be operational in 2016 to be followed by Gehem and Gendalo in 2018.
Meanwhile, Chevron?s contract over the Makassar Strait block will expire in 2020, Ganal in 2028, and Rapak in 2027. Chevron wants all contracts to be extended to 2028. (*)