Southeast Mahakam starts production in H2

The Southeast Mahakam block in East Kalimantan, operated by Total E&P Indonesie (TEPI), will commence its first oil and gas production in the second semester this year, The Jakarta Post reported on Friday.

The block is estimated to produce 250 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of gas and 90 barrels per day (bpd) of oil, TEPI geosciences and reservoir department head Nur Syariffudin said during his presentation at the 36th Indonesian Petroleum Association (IPA) in Jakarta.

?The production comes from three wells. Two of the wells have a total production of 100 mmscfd each, while the third one produces only 50 mmcfd,? he revealed.

The gas from the block will be channeled to the Senipah production base through a 67-kilometer subsea pipeline. From the base, the gas will then be pumped to the Bontang liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant which is 150 km away from the Senipah base.

?We use the subsea pipeline because the location of the Southeast Mahakam block is a bit isolated,? Nur explained.

The Southeast Mahakam block will have three production platforms named Stupa, West Stupa and East Mandu. Stupa and West Stupa will be connected by 12-inch pipeline spanning 4 km between the two platforms. Stupa and East Mandu are also connected through a 24-inch pipeline and a pipeline with the same diameter will deliver the gas to Senipah.

The installation of the pipelines have been started in November 2011 and become the first phase of the block?s development project.

In February, the platform jacket for Stupa had been set up, followed by West Stupa in March. For these projects, TEPI had spent US$392 million.

Total holds 50 percent participating interest at the block, while the remainder is held by Japan-based Inpex.

Currently, TEPI owns interest in 14 oil, gas and coa bed methane (CBM) blocks across the country. The blocks are Tengah, Southeast Mahakam, Mahakam, South Mandar, Sageri, South Sageri, Sadang and Sebuku. In West Papua, the company also works at the SW Bird?s Head block, Maborip VI and Arafura Sea.

For CBM, the company currently develops the East Kutai block and the Kutai II block.

?We have proposed to conduct a joint study at the two CBM blocks, but as of today, we are still waiting for the government?s approval for the project,? Nur reported.(*)