Petronas withdraws plan to participate in Matindok block

Malaysian state firm Petronas has decided to withdraw its plan to participate in the development of Matindok block in Central Sulawesi, according to Indoensia's state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina.

“Petronas only want (to participate) if Matindok block could be developed as a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project and the company is still not sure whether the block’s gas reserve are sufficient for the project,” head of Pertamina upstream exploration division Amril Adnan said recently.

Matindok consists of the Donggi gas block, which is operated by Pertamina, and the Senoro-Toili gas block, which is jointly operated by Pertamina and Medco E&P Indonesia. A report said delineation results in mid-2003 revealed less-than-expected recoverable gas reserves of 3.4 trillion cubic feet (TCF), with additional potential as high as 18 TCF.

Amril said despite Petronas’ decision, Pertamina had planned to carry out a study for development of Matindok with Total E&P Indonesie and Marathon Corp. He, however, did not give further details on that plan.

Pertamina is also planning to develop a mini LNG plant for Matindok under cooperation with Chinese firm Sinocher, Amril said.

In 2000, Pertamina entered into a partnering arrangement with energy services company Rentech Inc to develop a 16,500 barrel per day gas-to-liquid project for the block.

Rentech completed a feasibility study for the proposed project in 2003, but no significant progress reportedly on the project after the completion. (godang)