Eni adds new offshore block to Indonesian portfolio

Italian oil and gas company Eni and its partners Pertamina and Neptune have been awarded by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources the West Ganal exploration block in the Kutei Basin, offshore Indonesia, as a result of the second conventional oil and gas bidding round 2019.

Eni was awarded the role of the operator with a 40% interest and Pertamina and Neptune were each awarded a 30% interest.

West Ganal is a new Gross Split PSC (Production Sharing Contract) covering an area of about 1,129 square kilometers adjoining the Eni operated Muara Bakau and East Sepinggan PSCs, in the Makassar Strait offshore East Kalimantan.

Eni said on Monday that this additional award reinforces the strategic cooperation in the Kutei Basin with Pertamina and Neptune, already partners in the producing Jangkrik field in Muara Bakau block.

The block includes the Maha discovery with in place gas resources estimated in excess of 600 Bscf (Billions of standard cubic feet of gas) and further exploration potential, whose development and time-to-market will benefit from the proximity of the facilities of the Jangkrik field operated by Eni, accordingly to Eni’s “near field” strategy that optimizes synergies with existing infrastructures.

Furthermore, this award expands Eni’s position and upstream activities in the East Kalimantan’s Kutei Basin, which is one of the most promising hydrocarbon provinces in Indonesia, the company said.

In the Muara Bakau PSC, Eni started production from the Jangkik deepwater field in May 2017. In April 2018, Eni was also granted the approval of the Plan of Development for the Merakes discovery located in East Sepinggan PSC.

Eni added that this new project would allow a further increase in the availability and flexibility of gas supply both for the domestic market and for export, as well as strengthening Eni’s position in the LNG market in Asia-Pacific.

In Indonesia, Eni has a wide portfolio, in fourteen permits, in the exploration and production, as well as development assets.

Four wells ahead 

In a separate statement on Monday, Neptune said that the consortium had committed to drilling four exploration wells during the first exploration period, in addition to acquiring 600 km2 of 3D and 600 km of 2D seismic data.

Jim House, Neptune Energy CEO, said: “This award provides Neptune with further long-term growth opportunities in the strategically important Kutei basin. The block has significant exploration potential, which can be commercialized via existing Jangkrik infrastructure.”

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