Explorator KUFPEC looks for more oil and gas in Indonesia's Natuna Sea
Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company's (KUFPEC's) country representative stated on Monday that the company is looking for more oil and natural gas in Indonesia's Natuna Sea. Indonesian President Prabowo Subito wants to increase his country's production.
Prabowo who was elected in October aims to reduce dependence on imported fuel. He plans to offer investors dozens of new oil blocks and gas blocks in the coming years.
KUFPEC has already started operations in the Natuna Sea. It holds a participation interest in Natuna Block B, which supplies natural gas to Singapore. And it also owns a stake in Anambas Block for which approval is being sought.
Sara Al-Baker is the Indonesian Country Manager of KUFPEC. She said in an interview with The Jakarta Post on Monday that "We are especially focused on potential blocks within the Natuna Sea Region, which aligns our ongoing efforts to development the Anambas Block."
She said that KUFPEC was conducting a study of the Natuna D-Alpha block and planned to participate in future government block offerings.
Natuna D-Alpha is estimated to have 230 trillion cubic foot of gas reserves, making it one of the largest resources in the entire world. However, the CO2 content of this resource is high.
Al-Baker stated, "At the moment, we are doing a joint analysis and our evaluation. It will depend on the results." "I believe it's a very important project for Indonesia." The main challenge lies in the high CO2."
KUFPEC also signed two separate contracts in this year for the exploration of the Melati and Amanah blocks.
Al-Baker stated that the Indonesian Government has demonstrated a commitment to offer more attractive contract terms to companies. This includes allowing them the choice between the traditional cost-recovery model or a Gross Split Scheme.
She said that recent large gas discoveries offshore Kalimantan and in the South Andaman have also excited investors.
She said that the combination of Indonesia's untapped potential with government initiatives to support it strengthens its position as an important destination for oil exploration.
Indonesia, once a member country of OPEC is now a net oil importer due to ageing of wells, lack of investment and red tape. (Reporting by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Sonali Paul)
(source: Reuters)
