Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Arifin Tasrif, underscores the necessity for a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Aceh, as the existing Arun LNG facility in Lhokseumawe is deemed outdated to accommodate the significant gas potential from offshore Andaman Sea oil blocks.
“The current facility seems too old; it dates back to the ’70s. We need to install a ‘Gen Z’ LNG facility,” Arifin stated during an interview at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources on Monday, January 15, 2024.
The new LNG plant aims to address potential gas oversupply resulting from the operation of several fields in the Andaman Sea portfolio, estimated at 11 trillion cubic feet.
Harbour Energy and Mubadala Energy’s joint efforts have identified significant gas potential in Andaman II and South Andaman. Premier Oil, a Harbour Energy subsidiary, identified additional contingent resources (2C) of 80 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) and significant gas potential (multi-TCF play) in the Andaman II Working Area in 2022. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources estimates gas resources in the oil block to range from 5 Tcf to 6 Tcf.
In late 2023, Mubadala Energy discovered a gas potential of 6 Tcf in the Layaran-1 Well in the South Andaman Block, approximately 100 kilometers off the northern coast of Sumatra. The well, with a gas column over 230 meters thick in the Oligocene sandstone reservoir, successfully flowed high-quality gas at a rate of 30 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd). According to Mubadala Energy, Layaran-1’s potential surpasses the Geng North-1 well in the Kutai Basin, ranking among the top three discoveries globally.
The Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKK Migas) asserts that decisions regarding the new LNG plant’s development in Aceh will hinge on the completion of the development plan for Blocks Andaman II and South Andaman.
Hudi D. Suryodipuro, Head of the Program and Communication Division at SKK Migas, said that the infrastructure, including the LNG plant, will be addressed post-confirmation of the gas reserve potential in the offshore Aceh portfolio.
