Indonesia has made a great discovery of gas deposits in Andaman waters, Aceh province, following the first discovery of 5.6 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF) of gas and condensate and the latest discovery of found 6 TCF.
“In the latest discovery in Andaman, we found gas deposits of 6 TCF. But, we still need to do additional drilling to make sure, ” Energy and Mineral Resource Minister Arifin Tasrif said on Monday, January 15, 2024.
The minister said the discovery of gas deposits was extraordinary as the operator found 110 meters thick of hydro carbon layers in the first discovery and in the second discovery, they found 220 meters of thick of hydro carbon layers.
“It is in the deep sea, how can we pump it? So, we have to conduct drilling again. But, at least with the discovery, there is already certainty of potential that we can utilize,” he said.
Arifin said it used to take 6 years for a gas field to be exploited and produce gas. “But we do not want to go beyond 2030. We do not want to expedite it,” he explained.
The gas, he added, can be utilized for national energy security and then to increase the country’s foreign exchange.
As previously reported, Mubadala Energy, the international energy company headquartered in Abu Dhabi, announced on December 19, 2023 a significant gas discovery from the Layaran-1 Exploration well, drilled in South Andaman, about 100 kilometers offshore North Sumatra, Indonesia.
Mubadala Energy is the operator of the South Andaman Gross Split PSC and this is the first deep water well operated by the company, drilled to a depth of 4,208 meters in 1,207 meters water depth.
The well encountered an extensive gas column with a thickness of over 230 meters in an Oligocene sandstone reservoir.
A complete data acquisition including wireline, coring, sampling and production test (DST) were conducted. The well successfully flowed over 30 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd) of excellent gas quality.
With an 80 percent working interest in South Andaman, Mubadala Energy is the largest net acreage holder in the area. In line with company’s gas-biased strategy, the positive outcome from the Layaran-1 discovery will de-risk multi-TCF of prospective gas resources in the area, providing the foundation for future organic growth and additional exploration drilling activities in 2024.
