Energy giant BP and its partners in the Tangguh LNG project in Indonesia have received approval for the Vorwata carbon capture utilization and storage project.
Indonesian upstream regulator SKK Migas has approved the plan of development (POD) for the CCUS project but also for the Ubadari field, according to a joint statement by the Tangguh LNG partners on Monday.
“In this POD, the new development estimated a potential additional recovery of 1.3 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas, from both Ubadari and Vorwata field,” the statement said.
Ubadari field development is fast-tracked as a result of the successful appraisal program and will be produced via normally unmanned installations (NUI) connected to offshore pipeline to the Tangguh facility, the partners said.
25 million tons of CO2 injected
Meanwhile, the Vorwata CCUS development will see an approximately 25 million tons of CO2 injected back to the Vorwata reservoir to eliminate carbon venting and provide incremental gas production through enhanced gas recovery (EGR).
The CO2 injection would remove up to 90% of the reservoir-associated CO2, currently representing nearly half of the Tangguh LNG emissions, according to the partners.
Moreover, the front-end engineering and design (FEED) for the Ubadari field development and Vorwata CCUS would start in mid-2022, subject to Tangguh partners’ and further SKK Migas’ approval.
The partners plan to launch the project in 2026, subsequent to a final investment decision.
Tangguh LNG is a unitized development of six gas fields located in the Wiriagar, Berau and Muturi production sharing contracts in Bintuni Bay, Papua Barat.
The LNG plant started production in 2009, four years after its initial sanction by Indonesia, and currently has a capacity of 7.6 million tonnes per year. Most of the production lands in China and South Korea.
Operator BP and its partners are expanding the facility with the addition of a third liquefaction train. The expansion will add 3.8 mtpa capacity to the facility located in Papua Barat province.
BP Berau and its affiliates in Indonesia hold a 40.22% interest and operate the project.
Other Tangguh production sharing contract partners are MI Berau, CNOOC Muturi, Nippon Oil Exploration, KG Berau Petroleum, Indonesia Natural Gas Resources Muturi and KG Wiriagar Petroleum.