Chevron to develop shale gas in Indonesia

By Godang Sitompul

Chevron Pacific Indonesia said it will develop shale gas in Indonesia and was currently conducting a tender of procuring drilling services.

?Chevron is interested to develop the shale gas. It?s a great step. We support them,? Evita H. Legowo, Director General of oil and gas at the ministry of energy and mineral resources, told Petromindo.com in Jakarta on Friday.

She did not give further details of the Chevron?s project. But a reliable source told Petromindo.com that Chevron was interested in developing the shale gas in Rokan PSC. "Chevron?s decision to develop shale gas aims to end its dependence on the gas supply from ConocoPhilips and Talisman,? the source said.

Evita said that beside Chevron, there were also other companies interested in developing the shale gas in Indonesia. ?We?ve got strong interests from many contractors. It?s encouraging,? she said.

According to her, there were 10 companies more that had asked for registration. They are ExxonMobil, Talisman Energy, AWE, Pacific Oil and Gas, Chevron, Premier Oil, Chevron Pacific Indonesia, Petrochina, Bukit Energy, and Jindal. ?They are all interested in developing the shale gas in Indonesia,? she said.

Previously, Evita said that there had been 37 companies that had submitted proposals to carry out joint study. Of those, four joint study proposals have been approved. Since shale gas exploration is new in Indonesia, the government will award the contracts through direct offer mechanism, not through opened tender.

The four companies whose proposals have been approved are PT Pertamina which will carry out joint study in northern Sumatera, Consortium of Pacific Oil & Gas Indonesia and Bukit Energy in northern Sumatera, Consortium of Central Sumatra Energy & Indrillco Bakti in central Sumatera, and PT MIT Ivel Geoscience-Central Sumatera Energy in Central Sumatera.

To support the development of unconventional gas such as CBM and shale gas, the government has issued Ministerial Decree no. 5, 2012 on the procedures of awarding non-conventional gas. The ministerial decree governs the exploration and exploitation of non-conventional gas in the country.

Under the regulation, non-conventional oil and gas working areas are awarded by Director General for Oil and Gas through regular tender or direct offer.

Editing by Benget Besalicto Tnb.