Faster Than The Target, Cisem Earth Gas Transmission Development Phase I Capai 79.71 Percent

Illustration of natural gas (doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Cirebon-Semarang (Cisem) phase I natural gas transmission pipeline construction project for the Semarang-Batang segment has reached 79.71 percent until February 22, 2023. The progress is above the initial target of 78.78 percent.

This was after the Directorate General of Oil and Gas conducted a joint review with the Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency in Central Java Province.

"As of February 22, 2023, the development progress has reached 79.71 percent of the plan targeted at 78.78 percent," said Migas Infrastructure Planning and Development Director Laode Sulaeman.

Laode added that the construction of the CISEM Phase I natural gas transmission pipeline for the Semarang-Batang section is a multi-year project from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources to build a gas pipeline for approximately 60 km which has begun in May 2022 and is planned to be completed in August 2023.

In addition to reviewing the construction of the CISEM phase I of the Semarang-Batang section, the Directorate General of Oil and Gas also visited industrial areas along the pipeline, namely the Kendal Special Economic Zone and Batang Integrated Industrial Zone.

The goal is to find out the readiness of the industrial area to absorb natural gas which is flowed through the CISEM phase I natural gas transmission pipeline.

Director of PT. Kendal Industrial Estate Didik Purbadi said that the availability of natural gas is one of the attractions of investors to build and develop their industry in the Kendal Special Economic Zone.

For now, the need for gas in the industrial area is still using CNG gas provided by PT Pertamina Gas Negara with a capacity of 0.3 MMSCFD and will increase to 4.48 MMCSFD by the end of 2023. With the construction of the CISEM phase I pipeline, it is projected that in 2025 there will be 26 industries that will use natural gas in the area with the need to achieve a maximum of 40 MMSCFD.

On this occasion, Laode Sulaeman said, Indonesia is currently heading for the transformation of Net Zero Emission so that in the national energy mix, the portion of coal will be reduced but cannot be directly replaced by solar power or other EBT sources but with natural gas. Natural gas will be a very important energy in this transition period.

Pembangunan CISEM tahap I ruas Semarang-Batang merupakan salah satu upaya Pemerintah untuk meningkatkan akses gas bumi bagi seluruh masyarakat maupun industri."Pipa transmisi ini diharapkan dapat meningkatkan aksesibilitas gas bumi yang sebagian besar berasal dari lapangan gas di Jawa Timur dapat sampai ke wilayah Jawa Tengah untuk memenuhi kebutuhan industri yang sedang berkembang," pungkas Laode.