Domestic demand for Masela gas much smaller than initial projection
Wednesday, March 8 2017 - 02:59 AM WIB
Local companies which have requested for gas from the planned Abadi gas field project in Masela block, Maluku Province, turns out will only require much smaller gas volume than initially requested, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Wednesday.
The paper quoted Director of Upstream Chemical Industry at the Ministry of Industry, Muhammad Khayam as saying that the companies including PT Pupuk Indonesia, PT Kaltim Methanol Industri, and PT Elsoro Multi Pratama will only require 150 mmscfd of gas from the Masela block, much lower than the initial request of 474 mmscfd.
He added that the ministry has also included another company PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk into the list of the companies that will require gas from Masela block as feedstock for their planned petrochemical plants. He said that the four will set up a consortium to be led by PT Pupuk Indonesia.
Minister of Industry Airlangga Hartarto last year sent a letter to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources stating that the three firms will require up to 474 mmscfd of gas from the Masela block project.
The domestic gas demand estimate will affect the design capacity of the planned onshore LNG facility to be developed by Inpex Corp, the operator of the Masela block. While Inpex has proposed for the LNG plant to have design capacity of 9.5 million tons per annum plus a 150 mmsfcd of pipe line gas, the government, wanting more gas from the block to be used at home, has maintained for a capacity of 7.5 mtpa plus pipeline gas of 474 mmscfd.
Meanwhile, the paper quoted Vice President for Corporate Communications at state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina, Wianda Pusponegoro as saying that Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut B. Panjaitan has proposed for the company to absorb up to 200 mmscfd of gas from the Masela block project.
She said that while Pertamina is open to such suggestion, the company is still reviewing the proposal and wants ?attractive terms? under the sales and purchase agreement. (*)