Eni has received the approval of the Plan of Development (POD) for the Merakes field, located in the East Sepinggan PSC, offshore East Kalimantan, Indonesia.
The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources of the Republic of Indonesia has granted the approval just three months after the submission of the plan.
The Merakes field that is estimated to hold about 2 trillion cubic feet of lean gas in place is located in 1500 meters water depth, 35 km South West of the Jangkrik Floating Production Unit (FPU).
The POD approved on Wednesday foresees the drilling and completion of six subsea wells and the construction and installation of subsea systems and pipelines which will be connected to the Jangkrik FPU. The gas will then be shipped through the existing pipelines from the Jangkrik FPU to the Bontang LNG processing facility operated by PT Badak in the East Kalimantan.
Merakes production will contribute to the life extension of the Bontang LNG facilities, the company noted.
“Today’s approval of the Merakes POD is a milestone for the development of our most recent discovery in the Kutei Basin. It is a fundamental step to progress towards the Final Investment Decision of the project. Merakes is another outcome of the Eni ‘near field’ exploration and appraisal strategy. We are proud of Eni’s partnership with Indonesia, a key country in the company’s global strategies,” said Claudio Descalzi , Eni’s CEO.
Eni is the operator of East Sepinggan PSC through its subsidiary Eni East Sepinggan which holds 85% participating interest while Pertamina Hulu Energy holds the remaining 15%.