Guntis Moritis
OGJ Production Editor
HOUSTON, Aug. 13 -- Salamander Energy PLC and Serica Energy PLC announced the start of gas sales from Kambuna field in the Glagah Kambuna Technical Assistance Contract (TAC) area of the Malacca Straits, 40 km off North Sumatra, Indonesia.
The companies hold equal interest in the field with Salamander becoming the operator of the TAC area in 2008.
In early 2008, the companies installed the Kambuna field production platform in 40 m of water and completed and tested the three wells from the platform at a combined stabilized rate of 114 MMscfd and 8,000 b/d of condensate.
The Kambuna-4 well began delivering gas and condensate on Aug. 5 through a 14-in. flowline to Pangkalan Brandan, the site of a Pertamina gas plant and refinery about 8 km from the coast. Deliveries of gas to a pipeline system serving the Balawan power plant started on Aug. 11.
The companies expect the field initially to produce at a plateau rate of 40 MMscfd of gas and about 4,000 b/d of condensate. Upon completion of an ongoing upgrade and refurbishment of the Pertamina LPG plant at Pangkalan Brandan, LPG extraction will result in gas production increasing an additional 10%, the companies say.
In May 2008, the companies signed contracts to sell 28 MMscfd to PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara, the state electricity company, and 12 MMscfd to PT Pertiwi Nusantara Resources at a price of about $5.40/Mscf to PLN and $7/Mscf to Pertiwi. Both contracts call for prices to escalate at 3%/year.
Because of the high productive capacity of the three producing wells and available pipeline and processing capacity, the companies plan to market additional production from the field once they receive regulatory approval.
The TAC area contains two hydrocarbon discoveries: Glagah, drilled by PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia in 1985, and Kambuna, discovered by Bow Valley Energy Ltd in 1986.
In 2005, Serica drilled the Kambuna-2 appraisal well to 7,963 ft and tested it on a restricted choked at 17.5 MMscfd and more than 1,500 b/d of 55° gravity condensate gas from the Upper Belumai reservoir.
Consultants, in March 2008, estimated Kambuna gross proved plus probable reserves at 119 bcf of gas and 9.9 million bbl of condensate.
Contact Guntis Moritis at [email protected].