The Importance Of Accelerating Operations For The Eternal LNG Project So That Operational Costs Are Not Swelling

Head of the Special Task Force for Upstream Oil and Gas Business Activities (SKK Migas) Dwi Soetjipto. (Photo: Doc. ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Head of the Special Task Force for Upstream Oil and Gas Business Activities (SKK Migas) Dwi Soetjipto emphasized the importance of accelerating the operation of national oil and gas projects to avoid swelling operational costs.

"This belongs to the government and is a National Strategic Project (PSN) that should be accelerated immediately," said Dwi Soetjipto as quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, December 28.

Dwi said the acceleration of LNG Abadi's operations in Masela has the potential for revenue of around US$5 billion per year.

However, if there is a delay it will potentially increase project costs by around US$1 billion each year beyond the additional workforce costs.

Therefore, he emphasized, the importance of operators to look for activities to accelerate projects.

According to him, if the Abadi Masela project can be completed more quickly, then the impact will be very large in the form of accelerating state revenues and additional gas supply to support domestic needs.

The government and the people of Indonesia are looking forward to this progress from the LNG Eternal Project, because it is one of the backbones to achieve the production target in 2030, namely 1 million barrels of oil per day (BOPD) and 12 billion cubic feet per day (BSCFD) gas.

"In detail, an analysis must be carried out immediately to speed things up. Not because there is a timeline that is still empty, but how to speed things up," he said.

Dwi said that this project is specifically expected to contribute significantly to economic and social development, especially for people in eastern Indonesia, as well as efforts to achieve the zero CO2 emission target by 2060.

The government's support for INPEX together with new partners, namely Pertamina and Petronas, is through the approval of the second revision of the Plan of Development (POD) which includes carbon capture storage (CCS) components into the revision of POD I Field Abadi in the Masela Working Area.

This project is expected to generate state revenues of US$37.8 billion or equivalent to Rp. 586 trillion.

"The CCS Hub in the Eternal Masela Project adds to the list of CCS projects being built in the upstream oil and gas industry, as well as affirming the industry's alignment and contribution in reducing carbon emissions and supporting the government in achieving net zero emissions in 2060," concluded Dwi.