Page 5 - AsianOil Week 39 2022

AsianOil COMMENTARY AsianOil

Last week, INPEX, through its subsidiary where growing energy demand is bumping up
INPEX Masela, extended a memorandum of against its inability to develop its gas resources
understanding (MoU) with Indonesia’s power along with a lack of gas infrastructure. It is
plant operator PT PLN (Persero) covering long- looking to double current gas production from
term LNG supply and it expanded the MoU to around 6.5bn cubic feet (184mn cubic metres)
incorporate joint studies in hydrogen/ammonia per day to 12 bcf (340 mcm) per day by 2030,
and CCS for the Abadi LNG project. The MoU but whether that will be possible with the delay
was signed in Japan during the Second Asia expected for Abadi LNG and also for the Chev-
Green Growth Partnership Ministerial Meeting ron-led Indonesia Deepwater Development
organised by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade (IDD) project suggests that target might not be
and Industry (METI). reached.
INPEX said in a statement released on Sep- Many of the many foreign companies
tember 27 that its talks to supply LNG to gas- involved in producing and marketing Indone-
fired power plants owned and operated by PLN sia’s hydrocarbon exports are also rethinking
have been proceeding. The Japanese firm said their future plans in consideration of global
that “to make the project clean and competitive efforts to reduce hydrocarbon usage and invest
in service of the energy transition” it was con- in green technologies.
ducting a comprehensive study on the intro- According to Statista, Indonesia produced
duction of CCS and cost reduction. It added 59.3 bcm of natural gas in 2021 and held gas
that to make further use of CCS facilities, it is reserves of 1.3 tcm in 2020. Much of Indonesia’s
“considering the production of blue hydrogen gas production is exported by foreign companies
and ammonia using natural gas produced from that have developed and are operating the gas
the project.” fields. Furthermore, while it is clear that Indo-
“The scope of the MoU…includes conduct- nesia needs to move away from highly polluting
ing joint studies on supplying blue hydrogen coal, its power generation system remains very
and ammonia using natural gas produced from dependent on the fossil fuel, and making a switch
the project as co-firing fuel for thermal power to renewables is not seen as going smoothly.
plants [TPPs] in Indonesia that PLN owns and According to media reports, it appears likely
operates, as well as on the capture and transport the Italy’s Eni will take over Chevron’s 62%
of CO2 emitted from thermal power plants in holding in the IDD project, which includes
Indonesia and the storage of this CO2 in the production-sharing contracts (PSCs) for the
Abadi Gas Field. This initiative is expected to Ganal and Rapak blocks and gas fields Bangka
contribute to realising PLN’s achievement of and Gehem-Gendalo. Chevron announced
net-zero emissions by 2060,” the statement said. two years ago that it was seeking to divest from
Meanwhile, Indonesia is facing a situation IDD. ™

Week 39 05•October•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P5