Italy: Eni announces large Indonesia gas find

Rome: Italian energy group Eni said Monday that it had made a significant gas find in Indonesia, off the coast of East Kalimantan.

The company said preliminary studies had put the potential of the site at 140 billion cubic metres of gas (5 trillion cubic feet).

The find came at the Geng North-1 exploration well drilled to a depth of 5,025 metres in 1,947 metres water depth in the North Ganal PSC, around 85 kilometres (53 miles) off the coast.

The company said it had found a gas column some 50 metres thick in a Miocene sandstone reservoir “with excellent petrophysical properties”.

Eni added that “thanks to its location and significant size, the discovery has the potential to contribute substantially to the creation of a new production hub, in the northern part of the Kutei Basin, to be connected to the Bontang LNG facilities on the coast of East Kalimantan”.

Daily future production is estimated at 2.2 to 2.7 million cubic metres.

“The ongoing exploration campaign, along with the recent acquisitions, is in line with Eni’s energy transition strategy to progressively shift its portfolio mix towards gas and LNG, targeting 60 percent in 2030” compared to 50 percent currently, Eni said.

“Indonesia, and South-East Asia in general, play a relevant role in this strategy,” it added.

The news comes after Eni announced in July the acquisition of interests, including operatorship, in three blocks in the Kutei Basin, also offshore of East Kalimantan, from US rival Chevron.

Eni, operating in Indonesia since 2001, presides over a sizable portfolio of exploration, development and production assets for current production of around 80,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day from its Jangkrik and Merakes fields in East Kalimantan.