Italian energy giant Eni has announced a “major” discovery of natural gas off Indonesia’s coast, which the government said would triple the European company’s production in the country by 2028.
The archipelago already produces more gas than it uses, with rising demand for the commodity widely used for cooking, heating and electricity generation.
Eni said on Monday that preliminary estimates indicated the site some 70km off the coast of East Kalimantan province held about 5.0 trillion cubic feet of gas and 300 million barrels of condensate, a liquid hydrocarbon.
The new find, it added, “unlocks significant new volumes for domestic and international markets”.
The government said the find could boost Eni’s peak production to 2,000 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) by 2028 and to 3,000 MMSCFD two years later. It is between 600 and 700 MMSCFD today.
“This is a giant discovery. In addition to gas, by 2028 we will also be producing roughly 90,000 barrels of condensate. And in 2029-2030 that could increase further to 150,000 barrels,” according to Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia.
Higher condensate production will likely reduce oil imports, a government statement quoted him as saying.
Like many nations, Indonesia has come under pressure from soaring global energy prices since the Middle East conflict broke out.
Last week, President Prabowo Subianto met Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin, where Jakarta said he made a deal on oil procurement, details of which are being finalised.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Vahd Nabyl Achmad Mulachela said after the Moscow visit “there is no specific number that we have, but this is going to be long term for energy security”.
Prabowo then went on to France to meet with President Emmanuel Macron, where they agreed on cooperation in “energy transition and the development of new and renewable energy”, according to Jakarta. — AFP
