Widjajono: US companies eyeing shale gas potentials
Monday, February 6 2012 - 06:39 AM WIB
A number of US companies are currently seeking to invest in shale gas potentials in Indonesia, taking advantage of underdeveloped shale gas resources in Indonesia, Energy and Mineral Resources Deputy Minister Widjajono Partowidagdo said.
?Many US companies have expressed their interest to invest in shale gas in Indonesia. We offer them shale gas potentials in Sumatera and Kalimantan,? Widjajono told Petromindo.com at his office.
Widjajono is upbeat that if shale gas is developed, Indonesia will be able to meet growing domestic gas demand.
Evita H Legowo, Director General for Oil and Gas at Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, said Monday that ExxonMobil is one among US companies that had expressed interest to invest in shale gas in the country. Exxon, she said, has submitted proposal to conduct joint study about shale gas in collaboration with local partner.
She said so far 15 companies have submitted applications to conduct shale gas joint study.
Shale gas is natural gas produced from shale. In the US, shale gas has become an increasingly important source of natural gas over the past decade. Some industry analysts say shale gas could supply as much as half the natural gas production in North America by 2020.
In Indonesia, a number of oil and gas companies are exploring shale gas potentials, such as AWE Ltd of Australia, which is exploring shale gas potentials in Titan PSC, offshore East Java.
The head of geology agency at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, R Sukhyar said earlier that based on latest study shale gas potential in Indonesia is estimated to reach 570 trillion cubic feet (tcf).
The government has identified 7 shale gas basins in Indonesia and is preparing a regulation for the development of the new energy.
The seven basins include three in Sumatra (Baong Shale, Telisa Shale and Gumai Shale), two in Java and Kalimantan respectively. Aside from the seven basins, the government has also identified a basin in the Klasafet formation, Director General of Oil and Gas Evita Legowo said on earlier.
The government is drafting a regulation that will provide a legal umbrella for the development of shale gas in Indonesia.
Editing by Roffie Kurniawan