Three companies seek for gas supply from Masela block

By Godang Sitompul

Ministry of Industry

Three companies planning to build gas-based industries have asked for gas allocation from the planned Abadi gas field project in Masela block, Maluku Province.

This was revealed in a November 4 letter of Minister of Industry Airlangga Hartarto to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, upstream authority SKK Migas, Maluku provincial administration, and other related ministries, the copy of which was obtained by Petromindo.com.

Airlangga said in the letter that the three companies have asked for a gas allocation of up to 474 mmscfd. The three firms include PT Pupuk Indonesia (214 mmscfd), Elsoro Multi Prima/Sojitz (100 mmscfd) and Kalimantan Metanol Indonesia (160 mmscfd).

The government has been urging Inpex Corp, the operator of the Masela block, to immediately start development of the Abadi gas field project in the block.

But Inpex has asked for a number of incentives from the government to make the gas-rich Abadi field project commercially feasible after the government changed in March of this year the production scheme for the project to an onshore LNG production facility from the floating LNG facility as previously proposed by the company and had been approved by SKK Migas. The government has yet to response to the Inpex request.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak