FPU for Jangkrik project departs from South Korea

By Godang Sitompul

The Floating Production Unit (FPO) for the Jangkrik project of the Italian firm Eni S.p.a in East Kalimantan, departed on Thursday from the shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea for Indonesia, a senior official of the ministry of energy and mineral resources said.

The FPU is scheduled to arrive at Saipem?s Kariman yard in Riau province within two weeks, Upstream Director Djoko Siswanto told Petromindo.com.

A consortium led by PT Saipem Indonesia was appointed by Eni as contractor for the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of the FPU. The topsides fabrication activities are being carried out at Saipem?s Karimun Yard, while the hull was fabricated at Hyundai?s shipyard in Ulsan.

?We have checked all of it, up to the helideck. God willing, it will depart from the Ulsan yard in Korea today and head for Indonesia. It will arrive at the Karimun yard in Riau in around two weeks. Once arrived, it will belong to the Indonesian government forever. It is the largest vessel (in Indonesia) for FPU thus far,? he said.

The FPU, which was built in less than two years, has a length of 200 meters, a width of 46 meters and a height of 15 meters. It has the capacity of around 450 mmscfd of gas and 4,000 barrels per day of oil/condensate.

?Even though the global economy is still weak and the oil prices have yet to recover, we don?t stop developing oil and gas production facilities. Hopefully, the minister will be able to inaugurate the operation of the FPU in October of this year,? he said.

The Jangkrik project covers two fields in Muara Bakau PSC, namely Jangkrik and Jangkrik North East fields. Eni is the operator of the block with a 55 percent working interest, whereas the other JV partners are GDF Suez Exploration Indonesia, a subsidiary of ENGIE, formerly GDF SUEZ, with 33.334 percent stake and Saka Energi Muara Bakau with 11.666 percent stake. In March, this portal reported that GDF Suez planned to sell it stake in the block

Editing by Johannes Simbolon