Following reports that Indonesian government has decided against the floating LNG solution for the development of the Inpex-operated Abadi gas field, the Japanese company is still awaiting the official confirmation.
Responding to media reports, in a statement on Thursday, Inpex, developing the gas field in cooperation with Shell, said it “is currently in the process of confirming the facts, and will give due consideration to the implementation of the Abadi LNG Project upon receiving official notification on the subject from Indonesian authorities… Going forward, INPEX will openly disclose in a timely manner any developments on this subject as appropriate.”
The Abadi gas field, discovered in 2000, is located in the Masela block, in the Arafura Sea, offshore Indonesia. In September 2015, Inpex submitted a revised plan for the development of the Abadi gas field, envisioning the adoption of a Floating LNG (FLNG) plant with an annual LNG processing capacity of 7.5 million tons. The company said the reason was a greater volume of natural gas reserves confirmed at the Abadi gas field.
The initial plan, filed in 2010, had been based on developing the Abadi gas field in stages and targeted the deployment of an FLNG plant with an annual LNG processing capacity of 2.5 million tons as the first stage of development.
However, it could be that neither the first, nor the second plan will materalize, as the Indonesian media have reported that president of Indonesia Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has decided against the use of FLNG unit, and instead opted for an onshore plant.
Inpex is the operator of the field with 65 percent stake. Shell owns the remaining 35 percent.
Inpex’s latest statement is similar to the one Offshore Energy Today obtained from a Shell spokesperson earlier this week: “We are unable to comment now as we are waiting to receive a formal letter from the Government of Indonesia. We look forward to better understanding and discussing the implications of the decision with the relevant Government agencies.”