Pertamina to Invest $7.8bn in Sumatra Shale Block

Pertamina plans to spend up to $7.8 billion to develop the Sumbagut shale gas block in North Sumatra, Indonesia.

With this kind of investments Sumbagut block was expected to go from about 40 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) to 100 mmscfd by 2020, Pertamina CEO Galaila Karen Agustiawan said, Jakarta Post reported.

Production-sharing contract (PSC) for the Sumbagut block was signed at the opening of the of the 37th Indonesian Petroleum Association (IPA) convention in Jakarta on Wednesday, the newspaper reported. 

Earlier this year, the government offered several shale gas blocks to investors, including North Tarakan, Berau, Kutai I and Kutai II blocks in Kalimantan and Rama and Shinta blocks in South Sumatra, Jakarta Post said. 

Last year, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry estimated shale gas resources at around 574 trillion cubic feet (tcf) throughout Sumatra, Kalimantan, Papua and Java.