Minister wants Inpex to quickly complete Masela block PoD

Interim Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Luhut Panjaitan, who is also Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs, said on Tuesday that Inpex Corp, the operator of the Masela block, must complete the revised plan of development (PoD) for the block within eight months.

He said that there are no longer lingering issues or problems that would hamper the completion of the PoD. ?I have asked for the PoD to be completed within eight months, not a year, it?s too long,? he told reporters.

Inpex is required to submit the revised PoD after the government demanded the company to use the onshore LNG scheme in developing the block?s gas-rich Abadi field in Maluku, instead of the floating LNG facility as initially proposed by the Japanese company.

Luhut also said that the government has been informed about the location for the planned onshore LNG processing facility, but declined to disclose it on fears that speculators would bolster the price of land. Among of the alternative locations in Maluku, as previously reported, include Aru, Tanimbar, Selaru and Babar islands.

Luhut said that the issue on the size of investment has also been settled, as it has been reduced from US$22 billion to $15 billion.

Senior Manager for Communication and Relations at Inpex, Usman Slamet said that his company continues to hold discussions with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and the upstream oil and gas regulator SKK Migas on how to accelerate the Masela block development project. ?We have the same spirit with the government. We want the project to be able to immediately run to provide maximum benefits for Indonesia,? he said.

The Masela block is 65 percent owned by Inpex with the remaining 35 percent owned by Shell. (*)