Indonesia OKs Eni's Merakes Project
Italy's Eni and the Indonesian energy ministry have approved a plan of development (POD) for the offshore Merakes natural gas field, Eni said April 18.
The field is located in the East Sepinggan production sharing contract in the Makassar Strait, offshore East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Eni operates East Sepinggan PSC with a 85% interest, while Indonesian state owned Pertamina holds the remaining 15%.
Merakes is estimated to hold about 2 trillion ft3 of lean gas in place and is located in 1500 meters water depth. The field was discovered by the Merakes-1 well in 2014 and then successfully drilled and appraised by the Merakes-2 well in January 2017. Eni said Merakes' proximity to its existing Jangkrik floating production unit [FPU] will allow the company to maximise synergies with existing nearby infrastructures, as well as reducing costs and time of the execution of this second-deep water development in Indonesia.
Gas from both Jangkrik and Merakes will extend production from the Bontang LNG facilities, one of the world's largest LNG export plants which supplies LNG to both export and local Indonesian markets.
“The POD approved today foresees the drilling and completion of six subsea wells and the construction and installation of subsea systems and pipelines which will be connected to the Jangkrik FPU. The gas will then be shipped through the existing pipelines from the Jangkrik FPU to the Bontang LNG processing facility operated by PT Badak in the East Kalimantan," Eni said.
“Today’s approval of the Merakes POD is a milestone for the development of our most recent discovery in the Kutei Basin. It is a fundamental step to progress towards the final investment decision of the project. Merakes is another outcome of the Eni 'near field' exploration and appraisal strategy. We are proud of Eni’s partnership with Indonesia, a key country in the company’s global strategies,” said Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi.