T

he Southeast Mahakam block in East Kalimantan operated by Total E&P Indonesie (TEPI) will begin initial oil and gas production in the second semester of this year, a company official revealed on Thursday.

The block was estimated to produce 250 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of gas and 90 barrels per day (bpd) of oil, TEPI geosciences and reservoir department head Nur Syariffudin said during his presentation on the sidelines of the 36th Indonesian Petroleum Association (IPA) Convention and Exhibition in Jakarta.

“Production comes from three wells. Two of the wells have a total production of 100 mmscfd, while the remaining one produces only 50 mmcfd,” he revealed.

Gas from the block will be channeled to the Senipah production base through a 67-kilometer subsea pipeline. From the base, the gas will then be pumped to the Bontang liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant located 150 kilometers from the Senipah base.

“We’ll use the submarine pipeline because the location of the Southeast Mahakam block is a bit isolated,” Nur explained.

He continued that currently, TEPI was installing platform jackets at the block. A jacket is a steel frame fixed to the seabed, forming the support structure of an oil production platform. Different from other platforms that use four piles, the jacket at the block will have only three piles.

After the jacket is installed, other facilities like shelters, offices and a helicopter pad can be built on the top.

The Southeast Mahakam block will have three production platforms named Stupa, West Stupa and East Mandu. Stupa and West Stupa will be connected by a pipeline 12 inches in diameter spanning 4 kilometers between the two platforms. Stupa and East Mandu are also connected through a 24-inch diameter pipeline and a pipeline of the same diameter will deliver the gas to Senipah.

Installation of the pipelines began in November 2011 and became the first phase of the block’s development.

In February, the platform jacket for Stupa was installed, followed by West Stupa in March. For these projects, TEPI spent US$392 million.

Total has a 50 percent participating interest in the block, while the remainder is held by Japan-based Inpex.

Currently, TEPI owns interest in 14 oil, gas and coal bed methane (CBM) blocks across the country. The blocks include Tengah, Southeast Mahakam, Mahakam, South Mandar, Sageri, South Sageri, Sadang and Sebuku.

In West Papua, the company also works at the SW Bird’s Head block, Maborip VI and Arafura Sea.

For CBM, the company is currently developing the East Kutai block and the Kutai II block.

“We have proposed conducting a joint study at the two CBM blocks, but as of today, we are still waiting for government approval for the project,” Nur reported.