The Indonesian Deep Sea Project Is Officially Taken Over By Italian Oil And Gas Giants

Oil and gas illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Indonesia Laut Dalam/Development Water (IDD) project was officially taken over by the Italian oil and gas giant, Eni Lasmo PLC (Eni).

The signing was witnessed by the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Arifin Tasrif virtually today, Tuesday, July 25.

"I congratulate Chevron and ENI for signing the transfer of management of the Indonesian Deepwater Development (IDD) project. I hope that this transfer of management can be a good momentum to ensure Indonesia's energy security in the future," said Arifin in his remarks, Tuesday, July 25.

Arifin continued, the IDD Project is an integrated project from several fields and work areas in the deep sea of Kutai Basin, with depths reaching 1,000-2,000 below sea level.

"Instead of managing this project from Chevron to ENI, it is very crucial for Indonesia, considering that the IDD project is expected to encourage gas production of up to 12,000 mmscfd by 2030," he added.

Arifin further said that the IDD project had been developed and started production from Bangka Field since August 2016. Furthermore, the development stages of Gendalo Hub and Gehem Hub.

"ENI as the new operator of the IDD project is expected to continue the project to phase two. ENI holds participating interest (PI) at 12 Production Sharing Contract (PSC), 9 of which are operators in deep-sea projects with exploration and development stages. I hope ENI can expand investment in oil and gas sub-sectors, especially in the eastern region," said Arifin.

Arifin also expressed his appreciation to Chevron for his significant contribution to the Indonesian oil and gas industry.

"Chevron has been developing its business in Indonesia for more than 90 years. From Riau Sumatra to East Kalimantan. I hope Chevron can continue investment and cooperation with Indonesia in the energy sector," concluded Arifin.

For information, this acquisition is an important step for ENI, especially to accelerate the development of Gendalo and Gandang gas projects, part of the Indonesia Deepwater Development (IDD) in Ganal PSC, close to the Jangkrik FPU, with an estimated natural gas reserves of around 2TCF. This is an addition to the production of the Bangka Gas Field, the discovery of Gehem and Ranggas, as well as other significant exploration potentials.

In addition, the acquisition of Chevron assets in Indonesia can accelerate the development of IDD projects and is in line with the energy transition strategy carried out by ENI, where gas and LNG are the main pillars to increase natural gas production to 60 percent by 2030, in line with the world's demand for accessible, low-carbon, and affordable energy.

As is known, Chevron has signed 4 (four) JSA (joint study agreement) with Pertamina which resulted from initial cooperation between Chevron and Pertamina announced in Washington, DC, in May 2022 to explore potential low-carbon business opportunities in Indonesia.

In addition, on June 12, 2023, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources officially appointed a consortium of PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE) and Chevron New Energies through PT Jasa Daya Chevron (Chevron), as the winner of the auction for the Way Ratai geothermal working area in Lampung Province.