TEMPO Interactive, Denpasar: The government is working on a pilot project and preparing an agreement of a partnership contract on coal bed methane production. It is targeted that production will be started in 2011.
A member of the special staff of Energy and Mineral Resources of Technology and Mineral Resources Division Evita Soewito said that the pilot project with Medco has been in operation since 2003 in South Sumatera―was optimized in 2006. In 2003, there was only one exploration well. One well was added in the following year, and completed in 2006 with three wells.
In fact, for development, it requires five wells minimally. Each well will cost around Rp4 billion. “Because of a lack of funds,” she said in a workshop of Developing and Exploiting Coal Bed Methane at the Oil and Gas Working Area, at Denpasar, Bali, yesterday (01/25).
Evita said she was optimistic that next year the agreement can be signed. “Ten companies are already interested,” he said without mentioning the companies in detail.
Coal bed methane is an alternative energy that resembles gas in layers of layers of coal . Methane potential is quite large, reaching 453.3 TCF (trillion cubic feet).
About 50 percent of the potential is located in East Kalimantan. “They are twice as large as gas reserves on earth,” said Head of Oil and Gas Executing Body Kardaya Warnika.
Director General of Oil and Gas at the Department of Energy and Mineral Resources Luluk Sumiarso guaranteed that the working area inventory will be set up this year. Pertamina may obtain the special right if it can prepare the working area. If Pertamina does not request this, the government will hold an auction.
Harun Mahbub
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