Inpex, Indonesia make headway on $20 bln Abadi development

Japan’s exploration and production giant Inpex has made progress on the development of the Masela block in the Arafura Sea that contains the Abadi gas field.

According to a statement by the Indonesian ministry of energy said a number of strategic points have been agreed during a meeting between Indonesia’s minister of energy and mineral resources, Ignasius Jonan with Inpex Corporation’s CEO Takayuki Ueda.

The ministry noted the new meeting follows a previous one held on May 16 in Tokyo. In the previous meeting, the parties agreed the framework for the Masela block’s final plan of development (PoD).

During the latest meeting, further details of the framework have been negotiated to enable the agreement between the Indonesian government and Inpex to be signed immediately.

The costs of the Masela block development has been estimated at $20 billion, the ministry said.

Commenting on the agreement, Jonan said that Inpex and Indonesia finally agreed on the main points of the development of the Masela block following 18-year discussions.

The agreement is expected to be firmed in the near future the ministry said noting it expects to secure 50 percent share in production from the Abadi LNG project to be developed using the resources in the Masela block.

The Abadi LNG project has been switched from a floating to a land-based facility with an annual production capacity of 9.5 million tons in 2016.

Inpex currently has a 65 percent stake in the Masela block with Shell owning the remaining 35 percent.