Layaran find confirms Indonesia as deepwater hotspot, consultant claims
Offshore staff
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Mubadala Energy’s Layaran-1 gas discovery offshore North Sumatra appears to be the world’s second largest deepwater find this year, according to Wood Mackenzie.
However, according to Andrew Harwood, director of corporate and upstream research at the consultancy, the road to commerciality remains difficult.
Mubadala estimates in-place volumes at more than 6 Tcf of gas. Wood Mackenzie sees potential for an initial 3.3 Tcf recoverable, given the structure’s size and the single well drilled to date, but successful appraisal in the future could lead to recoverable resources rising to 4.5 Tcf.
"While Layaran-1 benefits from negligible reservoir CO2 and improved reservoir quality, the challenge lies in developing a resource of this magnitude," Harwood said. "With local demand constrained, Mubadala will need to explore new markets, potentially through improved connectivity with the rest of Sumatra or by restarting exports from the mothballed Arun LNG plant."
He claimed that pipeline connections to Singapore, Malaysia or Thailand would be under consideration, although the Sumatran/Indonesian authorities may push for domestic sales.
Dr. Munish Kumar, senior analyst for upstream at Wood Mackenzie, added, "The success of this endeavour will test the efforts made by Indonesia's authorities to streamline processes and create a more favorable investment environment. The upcoming installation of a new Indonesian administration in late 2024 adds an element of uncertainty, but the discovery of gas and condensate at the Layaran-1 exploration well is an exciting development, placing Indonesia ahead of Guyana, Namibia and Malaysia in terms of discovered resources in 2023."
Harbour Energy Operator Mubadala Energy’s Layaran-1 well made the gas discovery Dec. 19 on the South Andaman licence offshore North Sumatra. Harbour Energy is a partner with 20% interest. Layaran-1 is the first of a four-well exploration campaign targeting the same Oligocene play as the Timpan-1 well drilled on Andaman II (Harbour, 40%) in 2022. The rig will now move to drill the Harbour-operated Halwa and Gayo wells on Andaman II.
12.20.2023
