INPEX Brief History in Indonesia
After being established in Japan, INPEX began in 1966 its first oil and gas exploration in Indonesia through the establishment of NOSOPEX (North Sumatra Offshore Petroleum Exploration Co., Ltd. (precursor to INPEX CORPORATION). NOSOPEX was founded as a corporation promoting development of overseas oil resources in accordance with a contract signed with PERMINA (now PERTAMINA).
In October 1966, INPEX entered into a production sharing contract (PSC, effective in 1967) with the Indonesian government and acquired a 100% working interest in the Offshore Mahakam Block. The Attaka Unit was established in April 1970, with Unocal (now Chevron) holding an equal interest of 50%. Soon after this, the Attaka Field was discovered and the production of crude oil and natural gas commenced in 1972. INPEX farmed out 50% of its working interest in the Offshore Mahakam Block to TOTAL in July 1970. This venture resulted in the successive discoveries of the Bekapai, Handil, Tambora, Tunu and Peciko Fields. The Offshore Mahakam PSC & Attaka Unit expired in 2017.
Other INPEX’s main participation in Indonesian projects in the past included South Natuna Sea Block B in cooperation with ConocoPhillips and Chevron (1977-2017), and East Kalimantan Block in cooperation with Chevron (1971 -2018).
Currently, INPEX takes part in four projects in Indonesia namely Masela Block since 1998 and Babar Selaru Block since 2011 as the operator, Berau Block (Tangguh LNG Project) since 2001 where BP is the operator, Sebuku Block since 2010 and West Sebuku Block since 2012 where Mubadala is the operator.
MAP:
Past Projects: Red Color
- North Sumatra Offshore Block (1966-1973)
- Offshore Mahakam Block & Attaka Unit (1967-2017)
- East Kalimantan Block (1971-2018)
- South Natuna Block B (1977-2017)
Current Projects: Green Color
- Masela Block (Abadi LNG Project) since 1998
- Babar Selaru Block since 2011
- Berau Block (Tangguh LNG Project) since 2001
- Sebuku Block since 2010
- West Sebuku Block since 2012
Masela Block (Abadi LNG Project)
INPEX acquired a 100% interest in the Masela Block in November 1998 through an open tender conducted by the Indonesian government and subsequently went about exploratory activities as the operator, discovering the Abadi Gas Field through the first exploratory well drilled in 2000. INPEX subsequently drilled two appraisal wells in 2002 and four in 2007 -2008, all of which confirmed the presence of gas and condensate reservoirs. In December 2010, Indonesian authorities approved the initial plan of development (POD-1) deploying a floating LNG (FLNG) plant with an annual processing capacity of 2.5 million tons, and from November 2012 to November 2014, INPEX undertook SURF (subsea, umbilical, riser and flow line) and FLNG FEED work. INPEX drilled three more appraisal wells in 2013 and 2014 with the aim of expanding the volume of recoverable reserves, confirming a greater volume of natural gas reserves that were certified by the Indonesian authorities. Having revised its concept selection studies to factor in this increased volume of reserves, INPEX decided it would be optimal to center development on a large-scale FLNG. INPEX submitted a revised plan of development based on an FLNG plant with an annual LNG processing capacity of 7.5 million tons to the Indonesian authorities in September 2015. In April 2016, however, INPEX received a notification from the Indonesian authorities instructing it to re-propose a plan of development based on onshore LNG plant. INPEX subsequently entered into constructive discussions with the Indonesian authorities, including in regard to securing economic efficiencies, and in March 2018 launched Pre-FEED work based on an onshore LNG development scheme with annual LNG production capacity of 9.5 million tons. The Indonesian government recognized the Abadi LNG Project as a National Strategic Project in June 2017. The project was also given Priority Infrastructure Project status in September 2017, continuing to enhance expectations for an acceleration in various licensing processes.
Babar Selaru Project
Interest Owned: INPEX 85% (Operator), Pertamina 15%
Babar Selaru Block is located 100km southwest of Saumlaki in the Tanimbar Islands, Indonesia, and covers an area of about 5,710km2 where the water depth is 200m-2,000m. As Operator, INPEX acquired the block in 2011. Currently, exploration work is being undertaken.
Tangguh LNG Project (Berau Block)
Interest Owned: BP 37.16% (Operator), MI Berau B.V. 16.3%, CNOOC 13.9%, Nippon Oil Exploration (Berau) 12.23%, KG Berau·KG Wiriagar 10.0%, LNG Japan 7.35%, Talisman 3.06%
The Tangguh LNG Project is located in the area extending offshore Bintuni Bay to Berau Bay near West Papua, Indonesia. INPEX and Mitsubishi Corporation jointly established MI Berau B.V. and acquired a participating interest in Berau Block in October 2001. The Indonesian Government approved an extension of the production sharing contract and project development plans for the Tangguh LNG Project until 2035. Development work commenced thereafter, and shipments of LNG began in July 2009. The project currently produces 6,000bbl/d of crude oil and 1,048MMscf/d* of natural gas (average rate for Mar. 2017). (*The natural gas production volume corresponds to the volume sold to buyers, and not the volume at wellheads) In July 2016, the Tangguh Production Sharing Contract Partners approved the final investment decision (FID) to advance the development of the Tangguh Expansion project. This project will add a third LNG process train (Train 3) with 3.8 million tons per annum of production capacity to the existing facility (two trains with 7.6 mtpa of production capacity). The commencement of production is expected in 2020.
West Sebuku Block
Interest Owned: Mubadala 75.5% (Operator), INPEX 24.5%
West Sebuku Block is located 300km south of Offshore Mahakam Block, and covers an area of approximately 4,933km2 where the water depth is 40m-1,400m. The block was acquired in 2013. Currently, exploration work is being undertaken.
Sebuku Block
Interest Owned: INPEX South Makassar 15%, Mubadala* 70%, TOTAL 15%
In September 2010, INPEX obtained a 15% interest in the Sebuku Block off the shore of South Makassar, Indonesia. Thereafter, work began developing the Ruby Gas Field in the block, and production of natural gas followed in October 2013. The natural gas produced is transported from offshore production facilities via an undersea pipeline to onshore process facilities that receive products from the Mahakam Block. The natural gas is then mainly sent via an inland pipeline to a fertilizer plant in East Kalimantan.