Indonesia postpones coalbed methane gas bids

April 17, 2007
Indonesia has delayed the issue of tenders for the exploration and production of coalbed methane gas until August due to requests from potential bidders.

Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent

LOS ANGELES, Apr. 17 -- Indonesia has delayed the issue of tenders for the exploration and production of coalbed methane gas until August due to requests from potential bidders.

Four of the six investors planning to submit tenders had requested extra time to develop pilot projects, which could take up to 3 months each, according to R. Priyono, director of upstream oil and gas development at Indonesia's energy and mineral resources ministry.

Meanwhile, Priyono said the government would offer two areas in South Sumatra and South Kalimantan in May to state-owned PT Pertamina and PT Medco EP Indonesia, both of which already have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop the areas.

Indonesian reports say the two concession areas in South Sumatra and in Barito, South Kalimantan, hold the largest deposits of CBM in the country, with reserves at 183 tcf and 102 tcf, respectively.

Indonesia is reported to have prepared a detailed plan for CBM exploration, setting out a production target of 100 MMcfd by 2014 rising to 1 bscfd by 2025.

Sumatra contains roughly two thirds of Indonesia's 5.9 billion short tons of recoverable coal reserves, according to the US Energy Information Administration, with the balance in Kalimantan, West Java, and Sulawesi.

According to EIA, Indonesia's 5.9 billion tons of recoverable coal reserves are 58.6% lignite, 26.6% subbituminous, 14.4% bituminous and 0.4% anthracite (OGJ, Oct. 22, 2001, p. 40).

Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].