Madura Strait?s MDA-MBH field to start producing gas in end-2018

The MDA-MBH gas field in Madura Strait PSC offshore East Java operated by Husky CNOOC Madura Limited (HCML) is expected to come onstream in end-2018, upstream authority SKK Migas said on Tuesday.

?The field will produce 120 mmsscfd of gas for around 11 years,? SKK Migas? Deputy of Operation Control Muliawan said following the First Cutting of Wellhead Platform Ceremony for MDA-MBH Project in Cilegon, Banten province.

Present at the event were HCML?s General Manager Huang Chunlin, Bakrie & Brothers CEO Bobby Gafur Umar and PT Timas Suplindo?s Vice President Offshore Tiopan.

Muliawan explained that the gas from the field will be wholly supplied to domestic buyers, namely PT Petrokimia Gresik which will receive 85 mmscfd, PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (Persero) (PLN) 30 mmscfd and PT Pertamina Gas 5 mmscfd. This is in line with the government?s policy of prioritizing gas supplies for domestic buyers.

?By prioritizing domestic buyers, (the government indirectly) helps drive and increase the economic growth, particularly industries in the regions,? Muliawan said.

The MDA-MBH Field Development Project is the second field project in Madura Strait which has its Plan of Development (PoD) approved by SKK Migas, The first to be approved is tBD Field Project.

?There are seven wells that will be developed in MDA-MBH field,? Huang explained, while calling for supports from all parties for HCML to successfully execute the project on time, budget and in line with required quality.

The wellhead platform for the project will be built domestically by the consortium of Timas Suplindo and Bakrie Construction. The First Cutting of Wellhead Platform Ceremony was held to mark the start of the construction of the platform for the field. The platform will be installed in Madura Strait with a depth of around 80 meters at MBH field and around 100 meters at MDA field. The project will take 17 months to be completed from detail engineering to installment.

?We must be proud of the fact that the platform is constructed in Indonesia by Indonesian companies using Indonesian workers,? Muliawan said.

He said SKK Migas is committed to supporting the national capacity so that local companies can develop themselves in the upstream sector. ?However, the national companies must be efficient in order to become competitive,? he said.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon