INPEX Sets Tentative Development Plans for Masela Block

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Last July, Teikoku Oil Company, a subsidiary of INPEX Holdings Incorporated (TYO:16050) (Tokyo, Japan), broke ground on a grassroot liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at the Port of Naoetsu, which is in the Niigata prefecture. INPEX announced that the new LNG terminal will handle foreign supplies, some of which are to be supplied by fields in Oceania. One of those fields, the Abadi Gas-Concentrate Field in the Arafura Sea, which is south of Indonesia, is set to undergo development beginning sometime during the second quarter of 2014. For more information, see May 14, 2010, article - Inpex LNG Terminal Link in Japan's Gas Supply Chain.

The Abadi Gas-Concentrate Field was discovered in 2000 during INPEX's first exploratory drilling exercises in the Masela Block, in which INPEX Masela Limited (Jakarta, Indonesia), a joint venture between INPEX and PT EMP Energi Indonesia (Jakarta), holds a working interest of 100%. INPEX acquired the Masela Block in November 1998 through open bidding and later discovered the Abadi Field, the first crude oil and natural gas deposit discovered in the Arafura Sea. Afterward, several appraisal wells were drilled between 2002 and 2008 to confirm coordinates, as well as improve the accuracy of future development, while pre-front-end engineering and design (FEED) was taking place for a future floating LNG production plant, to be located in the Masela Block.

Following the last appraisal well exploratory drilling, INPEX Masela submitted a plan of development to the Indonesian government for the LNG plant and received approval sometime last year. FEED and social impact studies commenced soon after approval was granted. Construction of the $10 billion LNG production facilities is scheduled to commence sometime during the second quarter of 2014. When commissioned, the Masela Block Abadi Field Floating LNG Plant is anticipated to produce more than 4 million tons of LNG per year, some of which will be provided to the LNG terminal at the Port of Naoetsu to support Japan's gas-supply chain.

View Plant Profile - 1087236 1085818
View Project Report - 200001215 200000780 300014271

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. IIR's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.