"This is the largest investment that we have, and it will have an impact by creating jobs for hundreds of thousands of workers if we can develop the derivative industries, such as petrochemical," Jokowi remarked at the State Palace here on Friday.
A revision to the Plan of Development (PoD) on the oil and gas project in Masela Block in Tanimbar Islands of Maluku was inked last week.
On Tuesday (July 16), Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan, in the company of Head of the Special Task Force for Upstream Oil and Gas Business Activities (SKK Migas) Dwi Soetjipto and CEO of Inpex Corporation Takayuki Ueda, handed over the PoD of Abadi Field in Masela Block to President Jokowi.
Inpex Masela Ltd., a subsidiary of Inpex Corporation, has planned to build a land-base liquefied natural gas (LNG) refinery, with a capacity of 9.5 million tons per year and 150 MMSCFD of natural gas, which is projected to commence operations in 2027.
CEO of Inpex Corporation Ueda claimed that the project will have a multiplier effect on Indonesia's income, worth up to US$153 billion, or some Rp2,142 trillion, by the end of its production phase in 2055.
"This is what I continue to share. We will monitor this, and we hope that the construction would be started soon, so it could run as scheduled. In 2027, once it operates smoothly, there will be capital inflow and will further bring positive impacts on our economy," the president added.
Jokowi has also called on Inpex to optimally utilize local content to develop the refinery.
"I have told this to Inpex. I want them to use as much local content as possible and recruit as many local workers as possible," he noted.
Minister Jonan remarked that the project is expected to absorb 30 thousand workers, and during its operation in Abadi Field absorb four to seven thousand workers, including in the development of the petrochemical industry.
In the revised plan of development, the government has agreed on additional time of seven years to complete the project and extension of the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) of Masela Block to 20 years that will end in 2055.
Inpex will continue its cooperation with Shell, as its partner, to start the preparation activities concerning the Front End Engineering Design (FEED).
The Abadi Field Project is the largest first integrated LNG development project by Inpex in Indonesia, after the Ichthys LNG project in Australia.
Natural gas output in the Abadi Field has reached 10.5 million tons per year comprising some 9.5 million tons of LNG and natural gas for local demand supplied via pipeline. Its condensate has reached some 35 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Translator: Desca Lidya N, Sri Haryati
Editor: Bambang Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
