Indonesian gas production will peak in 2018: Vice Minister
Tuesday, November 19 2013 - 01:31 PM WIB
Speaking at the Improved Gas Recovery Forum event on Tuesday, the vice minister said some projects that are expected to come onstream in the next several years are the Donggi Senoro project in Central Sulawesi, which is scheduled to start operation in 2015; the Tangguh Train 3 project in West Papua, which is expected to start production in 2018; and the Masela project, which is scheduled to start operation in 2018, according to a press statement from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.
Upstream authority SKK Migas has however a different projection on the start of the operation of the Masela project. In its recent report to the House of Representatives, the agency projected the first gas from Masela will start to flow in 2020, two years later than the initial schedule.
Edy noted that despite the new production from the projects, the national gas output will not able to meet the domestic demand starting in 2020 due to the natural decline in the output of gas fields. Thereby, it is important to find new gas sources through explorations.
?Besides, it is important to limit our commitment for gas exports,? he said.
He said Indonesia?s gas reserves reach 150.39 tcf as of Jan. 1, 2013, while the non-conventional gas reserve such as CBM reach 453.3 tcf.
He said the national gas consumption has been on the rise since the government scrapped subsidies fro oil fuels for industries. The consumption rose to 2,249 mmscfd this year from 1,279 mmscfd in 2001.
Editing by Johannes Simbolon