Inpex says Timor Sea gas reserves at 4-7 TCF

Japan Oil Company INPEX CORP. said Monday gas reserves in Masela PSC offshore exploration block in Timor Sea was estimated to be between 4 to 7 trillion cubic feet.

?The figure is preliminary estimate. Inpex is considering to conduct more appraisal drillings to get more accurate figure,? said Sadafumi Tanigawa, Inpex?s Director & General Manager Jakarta Office.

Last year, Inpex confirmed a large natural gas accumulation in Masela block after two appraisal wells, Abadi-2 and Abadi-3, tested a total 32.4 million cubic feet a day (MMCFD) of natural gas - or equivalent to 5,600 barrels a day of crude. Inpex drilled appraisal wells after the first well Abadi-1 made the first natural gas discovery in the Indonesian side of the Timor Sea in late 2000.

Another Inpex official earlier said the size of the Abadi structure could warrant various commercial development options such as a liquefied natural gas project, a gas-to-liquids project and gas sales via pipelines to Australia.

The block is located about 800 kilometers east of the city of Kupang and 400 kilometers north of Darwin, Australia.

The major Japanese oil and gas producer acquired 100 percent of the development rights on the Masela block in 1998 from Indonesia's state-owned Pertamina under a production-sharing contract. (alex)