Eni hails first gas from Indonesia's Merakes field
Eni has launched production at the Merakes gas field deep offshore the Indonesian province of East Kalimantan, the Italian major reported on April 26.
The gas field is situated in waters some 1,500 m deep at the East Sepinggan block in the Makassar strait, forming part of the Kutei basin. Its five wells are set to produce up to 450mn ft3/day of gas, equivalent to 85,000 barrels of oil equivalent/d.
Merakes is tied to the Eni-operated Jangkrik floating production unit (FPU) some 45 km away, which also handles supplies from the Jangkrik field. The gas is then transported to an onshore receiving facility in Senipah. Some will be sold domestically, while some will be used to extend the production life of the Bontang LNG terminal.
"We are really proud of the start-up of Merakes, a project which is synergetic with existing operated facilities and is the result of the fruitful collaboration with our partners and with the Indonesian authorities," Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi said in a statement. "Merakes is one of Eni's key projects in 2021. It will support the growth of gas production, in line with Eni's strategic goals."
Eni operates the East Sepinggan block with a 65% stake, while Neptune Energy has 20% and Indonesia's state-owned PT Pertamina has 15%. Eni took a final investment decision on Merakes in 2018, after its production-sharing contract (PSC) for the block was converted into a gross split PSC, under which investors only pay tax after profits have reached a pre-arranged level.
Neptune, which acquired its interests in the Kutei basin in 2019, said the Jangkrik FPU was well-positioned to develop several of its other discoveries in the area including Maha and Merakes East. Appraisal drilling is currently underway at Maha.
"We have identified significant exploration potential in our acreage in the Kutei basin, which offers considerable growth potential through tie-back and standalone developments." Neptune said.