Govt to push for massive development of gas infrastructure
Thursday, August 30 2012 - 01:37 AM WIB
The government will push for massive development of gas infrastructure facilities in the country in a bid to increase natural gas production to compensate for the declining trend in crude oil output, according to Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Jero Wacik.
Speaking at the Indonesia International Infrastructure Conference and Exhibition (IIICE) in Jakarta Wednesday, Wacik said that the country has quite huge reserves of natural gas among others located in Masela Block, Tangguh, East Natuna, and Mahakam. That?s why the government has been pushing for the gas production among others by easing licensing procedure, providing fiscal incentives, and developing infrastructure facilities.
He said that it as expected that over the next 10-20 years, there will be new sources of gas and oil found.
The new gas infrastructure facilities being developed include the Central Java Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) by state oil and gas firm PT Pertamina; the Gresik-Semarang gas pipeline by Pertagas; the West Java FSRU which will be soon officiated by the president; Cirebon-Semarang pipeline and Cirebon-Bekasi pipeline by Pertagas; Arun-Belawan pipeline; Kepodang-Tambak Lorok pipeline; and the Arun regasificaiton unit.
In addition to developing gas pipeline, the government will also develop three new oil refineries, each with a capacity of 300 MBCD. Two of the refineries will be developed in cooperation with Kuwait and Aramco. The other refinery will be developed by the government funded via the state budget.
Two of the refineries, according to Wacik, will be built in Bontang, East Kalimantan. He is confident that once the three refineries have been constructed, the country?s energy security will strengthen.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak