INDONESIA: Synergy Engineering has secured a crucial contract for the front-end engineering and design (FEED) phase of Repsol’s $630 million Kali Berau Dalam (KBD) gas field development project in South Sumatra, Indonesia.
The Spanish energy giant Repsol received approval earlier this year from Indonesian authorities for a revised Plan of Development (POD) for the onshore Sakakemang production sharing contract area, which hosts the KBD field.
The updated POD envisions a central processing facility near the KBD-2X well pad, with a capacity of 135 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. It also includes plans for drilling two new production wells.
In addition to the processing facility, the project scope involves constructing a one-kilometre pipeline to connect with the existing TGI pipeline, as well as a 20-kilometre liquid carbon dioxide pipeline from the central facility to Medco Energi’s Grissik plant.
This is necessary due to the KBD field’s high carbon dioxide content of 26 per cent.
Furthermore, the development plan calls for a produced water pipeline from the central facility to the Kukulambar well pad for water injection, along with two dedicated water injection wells.
Repsol had previously drilled the Kukulambar-2X exploration well in 2016, but subsequent appraisal efforts failed to confirm commercial reserves.
According to Indonesia’s upstream regulator, SKK Migas, the basic engineering design for the gas processing and CO2 separation facilities has been completed in recent months, paving the way for Synergy Engineering’s FEED contract award.
The contract value was not disclosed.
SKK Migas expressed optimism that the FEED work will be finalised by the end of this year, keeping the project on track for first gas production from the Sakakemang block in early 2028.
Based on the revised POD, the KBD field is expected to produce 474.28 billion cubic feet of gas reserves until 2040.
Total investment costs for the project are estimated at $631.7 million, with $168.8 million allocated for drilling and completion activities, and $462.9 million for production facility construction.
Hudi Suryodipuro, an SKK Migas official, confirmed that the field development timeline remains on schedule, and stated that since the POD revision was approved with the addition of a new scope of work, SKK Migas and Repsol have made real efforts — so now, the progress has been well seen, namely the completion of the FEED tender.
Repsol’s initial discovery at the KBD-2 well in 2018 indicated recoverable gas resources exceeding 2 trillion cubic feet. However, subsequent appraisal work led to a significant reserves downgrade, with sources suggesting revised volumes of around 500 billion cubic feet of gas.
Additionally, a long-term test on the KBD-3X appraisal well revealed low productivity in the targeted pre-Tertiary fractured basement reservoir.
A Repsol spokesperson acknowledged that while the KBD field contains “a significant volume of gas in place, it is potentially more compartmentalised than initially anticipated.”
As the project advances, industry observers will closely monitor the development of this strategically important gas field, which is expected to contribute to Indonesia’s energy security and economic growth.
