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Indonesia approves Tangguh

LNG expansion, CCUS plan

Indonesia’s oil and gas regulator has approved BP-led plans for Tangguh LNG, which involve
the development of the Ubadari natural gas field and a carbon capture project at Vorwata

COMMENTARY INDONESIAN regulator SKK Migas has Vorwata gas field thanks to the use of CCUS.
approved the development plan for an expan- The development is estimated to enable a
sion and a carbon capture, utilisation and stor- potential additional recovery of 1.3 trillion
WHAT: age (CCUS) project at BP’s Tangguh LNG export cubic feet (36.8bn cubic metres) of gas, from
BP is moving towards a complex in Papua Barat. The move comes as the both the Ubadari and Vorwata CCUS pro-
potential final investment energy transition is increasingly in the spotlight, jects, BP said in a statement.
decision on projects and oil and gas companies are grappling with the The Vorwata CCUS development is expected
linked to its Tangguh LNG question of how to keep producing while pursu- to result in roughly 25mn tonnes of carbon
plant. ing decarbonisation goals. dioxide (CO2) being injected back into the Vor-
CCUS, which is also known simply as carbon wata reservoir to reduce venting of produced
WHY: capture and storage (CCS), is increasingly being CO2 and to boost output through enhanced
The Indonesian touted as an option for capturing and offsetting gas recovery (EGR). BP said the CO2 injection
government has approved greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from oil and would remove up to 90% of the reservoir-asso-
BP’s development plans, gas operations, including liquefaction plants. Its ciated CO2, which is currently vented and rep-
including a CCUS project. use has been limited thus far – as has its success. resents nearly half of Tangguh LNG’s emissions.
Chevron’s high-profile CCS project at its giant The super-major believes that this will make
WHAT NEXT: Gorgon LNG facility in Australia came under Tangguh one of the lowest GHG-intensity LNG
The number of proposals fire recently for failing to meet its carbon capture plants in the world.
for LNG projects with targets to date. The Ubadari field development, meanwhile,
a CCS component will Nonetheless, the number of LNG projects is being fast-tracked following a successful
continue to grow. proposed being put forward with a CCS compo- appraisal programme. The super-major said
nent is growing, and final investment decisions normally unmanned installations in the field
(FIDs) are being awaited on this new crop of will be connected by offshore pipeline to the
liquefaction plants that have been designed with Tangguh LNG facilities.
emissions reductions in mind. The front-end engineering and design
(FEED) work for the Ubadari and Vorwata
Tangguh plans CCUS developments is due to start in mid-2022,
The plan approved by SKK Migas involves subject to Tangguh partners’ and further SKK
the development of the Ubadari natural gas Migas approval. If an FID follows, the project
field, as well as output being raised at the could enter service in 2026.

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 36 09•September•2021