JAKARTA – BP Indonesia plans to increase its investment in Indonesia, to increase Tangguh reserves in Papua. The total investment value prepared is projected to reach around US$ 4 billion.

Dwi Soetjipto, Head of the Special Task Force for Upstream Oil and Gas Business Activities (SKK Migas), said BP management had said that it would increase investment in Indonesia through development in the Ubadari Field and Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS).

“We are happy because it means that the efforts made by SKK Migas and the government to increase investment yield results,” Dwi said, Sunday (21/3).

According to Dwi, the investment for the development of the Ubadari Field is intended to increase proven reserves, which will later be used to support the operations of the Tangguh 1, 2, and 3 LNG refineries.

“If realized, it can be used to expand the market. The Ubadari field was discovered in 1997, and exploration drilling began in 2017,” Dwi said.

BP also intends to develop and implement CCUS at Tangguh, a technology that can capture CO2 that has been released into the atmosphere. CCUS is a technology that will reduce CO2 emissions. With the application of CCUS in the Tangguh field, it will support Indonesia’s success in implementing the Paris Agreement in 2015, in which Indonesia is committed to reducing carbon emissions by 29% to 41% by 2030. The application of CCUS will reduce carbon emissions by around 45%.

“This is very encouraging because in addition to contributing greatly to the success of the commitment of the Indonesian government in protecting the environment, it will also increase production. Another advantage, this activity will also keep the Tangguh LNG Plant competitive – especially in dealing with buyer countries that are sensitive to environmental issues,” Dwi explained.

To realize the investment plan, BP will immediately discuss with SKK Migas regarding engineering and project economics issues. It is hoped that the discussion will soon produce a second Plan of Development, which will be used as the basis for the development of the Ubadari Field.

Dwi hopes that BP’s steps to increase investment will soon be followed by other contractors, especially when entering March 2021, world oil prices will improve, ranging from US$ 60 to US$ 70 per barrel. This price increase was faster than analysts had predicted.

“The world oil price situation is recovering faster and in March 2021 it has even exceeded the average world oil price in 2019 which is expected to encourage KKKS to increase exploration activities outside of the agreed programs in the work, program and budget (W, PnB) 2021,” said Dwi.