Jokowi Inaugurates The National Strategic Project Tangguh Train 3 In Bintuni Bay

President Joko Widodo (four from the right) when inaugurating the National Strategic Project (PSN) Tangguh Train 3, located in Teluk Bintuni Regency, West Papua Province, Friday (23/11/2023). ANTARA/HO-Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) inaugurated the Tangguh Train 3 National Strategic Project (PSN), located in Teluk Bintuni Regency, West Papua.

The President also laid the groundbreaking for the development of three other projects in West Papua, which are part of the upstream oil and gas project and its derivatives, namely the Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) Ubadari Project, the blue ammonia downstream project, and the Red Kido Smoke Field (AKM) project.

"Thank God, Alhamdulillah, today we will inaugurate the largest natural gas-producing Resilient Train 3 Project in Indonesia, and also we will groundbreaking the Ubadari CCUS project, the ammonia blue downstream project, and the Red Kido Smoke oil and gas field project," said President Jokowi. started his remarks at the inauguration as reported by ANTARA, Friday, November 24.

At the inauguration, Jokowi was accompanied by Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Arifin Tasrif, Minister of State Secretary Pratikno, Minister of Investment Bahlil Lahadalia, Acting Governor of West Papua Ali Baham Temongmere, Regent of Bintuni Petrus Kasihiw, Head of SKK Migas Dwi Soetjipto, BP EVP Gas & Low Carbon Energy Anja

Jokowi said that the Tangguh Train 3 project was built with an investment of US$4.83 billion or equivalent to Rp72.45 trillion.

"This project will increase the annual production capacity of Tangguh LNG to 11.4 million tons per year and contribute significantly to support the gas production target of 12 cubic feet per day by 2030," he continued.

Jokowi also expressed his appreciation for this new investment.

"I am happy that this project absorbs a lot of labor. Currently, 70 percent of Tangguh's operational personnel are workers from West Papua and Papua Provinces. And, I heard that there is a new target in 2029 reaching 85 percent. This is very good and 105 operational technicians and maintenance of the LNG refinery are West Papuan sons and daughters who have been recruited since high school, who are undergoing education programs from BP in Berau," Jokowi continued.

Meanwhile, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arifin Tasrif ensured that the inauguration marked the start of commercial operations from Train 3 and emphasized Tangguh's contribution to the nation's energy security and strong support for the energy transition program towards net zero emissions (NZE) in 2060.

Arifin said the next phase of the Tough Project was Ubadari CCUS (UCC).

The project is the most advanced CCS project and will be the first CCS hub in Indonesia, with a potential CO2 storage capacity of up to 1.8 GT.

In addition to producing additional gas production, the project will inject around 30 million tons of CO2 to 2035 into existing reservoirs.

The next project that will also be built is downstream natural gas into low carbon ammonia with a planned production of 875 thousand tons/yearblue ammonia, which will be used for co-firing at power plants and also at steel factories.

Another important project is the Smoke Gas Field, Kido, Merah. This project will produce gas reserves (gross) of 2,244.45 BSCF and condensate production of 5.4 MMSTB. The total project investment value is 3.37 billion US dollars.

"These downstream projects represent the resilience or resilience of Indonesia's upstream oil and gas industry in carrying out its duties in the midst of dynamics and challenges both globally and nationally", said Arifin.

Meanwhile, Head of SKK Migas Dwi Soetjipto said that his full operation of Tangguh Train 3 will increase national gas production and strengthen the role of the upstream oil and gas industry in the energy transition era to support sustainable development.

"It is hoped that Train 3 will be able to operate full capacity in early December so that it will further strengthen the national gas balance and support domestic needs", he said.

Dwi said that Tangguh Train 3 is the work of the nation's children, which is built and operated by domestic human resources, and pays great attention to local workers.

"We are honored that President Jokowi is pleased to inaugurate Tangguh Train 3. Tangguh is a world-class facility with a strong safety culture and 70 percent of our workers are from Papua. Indonesia is an important country in the BP portfolio, we are very grateful for the support of the Indonesian Government," said BP EVP Gas & Low Carbon Energy Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath.