Inpex plans to hold Masela Pre-FEED tender in Q4
Tuesday, August 22 2017 - 08:11 AM WIB
Inpex Corp, operator of the Masela block in Maluku, plans to hold tender in the fourth quarter (Q4) of this year to select contractor to carry out the required pre-front end engineering design (Pre-FEED) study for the planned Abadi gas field development project located in the block.
Inpex Vice President for Corporate Services, Nico Muhyidin told Petromindo.com on Tuesday that the company is currently studying the recent changes to the government guidelines in implementing procurement of goods and services in upstream oil and gas activities (also known as PTK 007 Revision 4/2017) as part of tender preparations.
?We?ll hold the tender in Q4 of this year. Whether it will be called tender or other term, it has yet to be discussed with SKK Migas (to adjust to the revised PTK 007),? he said, referring to the upstream oil and gas authority.
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Ignasius Jonan had repeatedly urged Inpex to quickly start the Pre-FEED to get the Masela project rolling as it has long been planned and that discussions between the government and the company have been quite lengthy.
The minister demanded Inpex to make Pre-FEED for two onshore LNG plant scenarios in two locations. The first is an LNG plant with capacity of 7.5 million tons per annum plus pipeline gas of 474 mmscfd, and the second with capacity of 9.5 mtpa plus pipeline gas of 150 mmscfd. There are also two alternative locations for the project: Aru Island or Yamdena Island, in Maluku Province.
Jonan explained that with the pre-FEED document completed, the government will be able to among others decide allocation of gas from the project, the capacity of the LNG plant, and its location. The document will also be used as basis for the investors in developing the project.
President Joko Widodo decided in March for Inpex to develop onshore LNG facility at the Masela block project, despite an earlier proposal from the company and partner Shell to build an offshore facility. Inpex has demanded a number of incentives for the government to make the onshore project commercially feasible including increasing the LNG production facility to 9.5 mtpa.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak