Ministry to issue new regulation on CBM soon

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources will soon issue a new regulation on coal bed methane (CBM) aimed to revive investors? interest in developing the energy source.

Director General of Oil and Gas IGN Wiratmaja said the new regulation is expected to be issued next week.

Wiratmaja said years of exploration activities have thus negligible results despite assumptions that Indonesia has huge reserves of CBM. ?The 54 CBM acreages in Indonesia have thus far only produced 0.33 mmscfd from Sanga-Sanga field. This is too small compared to the number of the acreages,? he said.

He said CBM investors are confronted with various obstacles in the field, including those related to land acquisition, licensing, procurement, local access etc.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon