TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Vice President External Relations, the Special Unit for Upstream Oil and Natural Gas Business Activities (SKK Migas) Taslim said the timeline for Masela project has already been submitted. He said that the Plan of Development (POD) is expected to complete by 2019. “We has asked Inpex to [submit] the PoD,” Taslim told Tempo Thursday.
Taslim went on to say that the development of the project has had many setbacks, whereas it is difficult to be sped up due to several issues. For example, social issue: districts have been vying to take part in the project. “A district have asked [to take part], others have followed suit.”
Taslim said that the solution is for the government to make an intervention. The Interior Ministry must make a decision. “The most economical region for Inpex and the country [will be picked].”
In addition, Taslim said that the project will take a long time before it starts production, citing Cepu block that was discovered in 2001 but had only reached peak production in 2016. “Masela was also discovered in 2001, if the production is in 2026, meaning it would take 25 years,” he said.
Earlier, Inpex CEO Toshiaki Kitamura had met with President Joko Widodo in Jakarta, reiterating his commitment in the Masela Abadi gas project with on-shore scheme.
Inpex spokesman Usman Slamet had also said that one of the issues being discussed with the President was the incentives asked by his side in Masela development according to what the government had wanted.
According to Usman, the President and Mr. Kitamura had discussed the regulation, commercial aspects, fiscal term and particularly the project schedule. Usman, however, declined to make any comment on the details of the incentives asked by Inpex to the President.
DIKO OKTARA
