Pertamina eyes shale gas production in Canada

State owned oil and gas company Pertamina plans to cooperate with an international gas company to explore and produce shale gas in Canada as part of the company?s overseas expansion plan, Kontan reported on Thursday.

Pertamina?s President Director Karen Agustiawan said in Jakarta on Wednesday that the state oil and gas company had discussed the cooperation plan with the Canadian company which has been engaged in shale gas production in the country.

?Pertamina and the Canadian company have cooperated in Indonesia. So, it will be no problem, if we also cooperate in shale gas production in Canada,? Karen said. She, however, refused to mention the name of the Canadian company.

Karen said that shale gas production from Canada would be shipped to the Arun LNG plant in Aceh, which is now being modified into a LNG receiving terminal.

She said that a number of international gas producers have shifted to shale gas production because its exploration cost is far lower than those of conventional gas. In the US, the exploration cost of shale gas is between $2 million and $3 million per well, and about $8 million per well in Indonesia.

For a comparison, the exploration cost for conventional gas is between $70 million and $8 million per well.

As part of its overseas expansion plan, Pertamina is currently exploring the possibility of acquiring several oil and gas blocks in Oman, Algiers, Thailand, Kazakstan, Azarbaizan and Sudan. (*)