According to a recent report in the Jakarta Post, the Indonesian government expects to start opening tenders for shale gas field development in eastern Indonesia this year.

Shale gas is an unconventional natural gas produced from shale, and a recent study by Bandung Technology University [ITB] found that Indonesia holds 1,000 trillion cubic feet [TCF] of shale gas reserves. This is good news for the country facing a severe gas supply deficit.

Mr. Edy Hermantoro, an upstream oil and gas director at the energy and mineral resources ministry, said Indonesia was upbeat on its untapped shale gas potential, but was unable to share details on the fields numbers and location, saying that the government was preparing the regulation on this matter.

Those keen to get a headstart on the shale gas developments in Indonesia should attend 3^rd Indo OGP, where Mr. Edy Hemantoro will be speaking on, “Regulatory Outlook in Attracting Investments in Upstream Oil & Gas”. Mr. Hemantoro, who is already touching on Coal Bed Methane developments in his speech, is also expected to share some details about Indonesia’s plans to develop Shale Gas.

3^rdIndo OGP will also offer participants opportunity to touch base with Mr. Hemantoro and other top regulators including Dr. Ing. Evita Legowo, and to get their personal perspectives on the situation.

To participate in 3^rd Indo OGP, simply click on the link below to register.

Indonesia is looking to speeding up the licensing process for companies developing oil and gas projects. According to a Reuters report, Energy Mininster Dr. Saleh Zahedy Darwin issued the decree on 10 Feb.

The decree said "Oil and gas contractors must accelerate proposals for development plans after (oil or gas) finds," and added that a contractor must propose a development plan within 90 calender days. The contractor will also be expected to start development activities within 180 calendar days after the proposal is agreed, and produce oil or gas at least 2 years after development plan is agreed.

Based on previous upstream regulation, oil contractors have 6 years for exploration, and the decree proposed extending it by another 4 years. The new decree also added a 40 day time limit for oil watchdog, BPMIGAS to submit a recommendation to the energy ministry on any development plan they receive from a contractor. This means BPMIGAS will need to make a decision on the work programme and budget proposals within 40 days.

Indonesiahas struggled to attract fresh investment to develop new fields, partly due to uncertain regulations and tortuous red tape. Many of the remaining unexploited fields are also in more remote areas or under deep water, requiring high levels of investment and specialised technology.

Will the implementation of this decree turn around Indonesia’s Oil & Gas sector?

Those seeking more information on these shifts in regulatory and business environment for the country’s oil, gas and petrochemicals sector should attend 3rd Indo OGP, where they will get to hear from BMIGAS, Directorate General of Oil & Gas-Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Shell, Pertamina and many other key players in Indonesia’s oil, gas and petrochemicals sector. Click on the link below to register.

Our 3rd Indonesian OGP (Oil, Gas & Power) conference will take place in Jakarta on 14-15 April 2010. The conference will focus on the outlook of the energy and power sectors in Indonesia, and explore the changes in the regulatory and business environment.

3rd Indonesian OGP is where you get to hear from regulators, state companies and independents, on maximizing the oil, gas & power production in Indonesia, as well as make contact with the industry. Conference Highlights include:

• Updates on Upstream E&P regulations - Contract Sanctity, Cost Recovery, Taxation
• Focus on Downstream - Joint Venture Opportunities, Government Policies on Pricing, Distribution and Incentives
• Latest Development in alternative energy sources - Geothermal, CBM, Biofuels
• Power Industry Outlook- Business Opportunities in the 10,000MW project phase II
• Landscape of Project Financing in the energy sector

If you wish to participate as delegates, media partners, exhibitors and / or sponsors at the 3^rd Indonesian OGP conference, submit your enquiries and proposals to Ms. Nadia Albahar at +65 6346 9114 or email her at nadia@cmtsp.com.sg.

We are currently finalizing the program details and will share more updates soon, so do visit this page again very soon.

Is the tide turning for Indonesia’s oil & gas sector?

Indonesia's efforts to raise oil and gas output are yielding some results with a new field inaugurated and official production soon to begin at several other major projects. Gas production at the North Belut field has reached 265 million standard cubic feet a day and oil production has reached 20,000 barrels a day, according to upstream regulator BPMigas, outstripping a target set by operator ConocoPhillips (COP) last year.

BP Migas Chairman Raden Priyono also announced that five oil and gas projects worth US $908.9 million will be inaugurated in the first week of February 2010. The Dow Jones News Wire reported that official production will also be starting by the first week of February at Chevron Corp.'s (CVX) Seturian project in East Kalimantan, Total S.A.'s (TOT) Tunu Phase 11 and 12 projects in the Mahakam Delta, Santos Ltd.'s (SSLTY) Oyong Phase 2 field in the Madura Strait and Hess Corp.'s (HES) oil and liquefied petroleum gas facilities at the Ujung Pangkah block in Gresik, East Java.

With these new projects coming on-stream, the Indonesian government aims to raise average and natural gas production to meet rising demand from domestic industries and bring in export earnings.

Find out more about Indonesia’s plans to ramp up their Oil & Gas production at the 3^rd Indonesia Oil Gas & Power conference, where top regulators from BPMIGAS and MEMR will be sharing essential updates. There will also be insights from Indonesia’s leading industry executives at the Jakarta conference, which meets on 14-15 April 2010. Confirm your seat for the conference right away by >>clicking here<< to sign up.

Indonesia, the world's third-largest LNG exporter behind Qatar and Malaysia, is seeking non-oil energy sources like natural gas to meet rising domestic demand for power and reduce consumption of crude oil as its reserves dwindle. For this reason, Indonesia is turning to Floating LNG as a cost-effective alternative to building pipelines.

A recent report in the Jakarta Post revealed that PT PERTAMINA and PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) inked a Joint Venture agreement to operate a floating LNG receiving terminal in the waters off West Java.

Construction on the terminal is slated to begin later this year, and completion is expected by 2011. The terminal will store between 1-1.5 million tons of LNG, and receive gas supplies from East Kalimantan of 11.75 million tons over 11 years.

Furthermore, Pertamina already plans to build a floating LNG receiving terminal near the capital Jakarta together with PGN, and recently announced that it will open a bidding round to procure ocean-going vessels to be converted into floating LNG-receiving terminals in East and West Java.

Those seeking updates on Indonesia’s burgeoning FLNG market should attend 3^rd IndoOGP, where industry leaders and key regulators like BPMIGAS are expected to deliver updates on investment opportunities.

Confirm your seat at the conference early! >>Click here to Sign up<<

Ibu Evita Legowo, Director General of Oil & Gas at Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy & Mineral resources, said in an interview on Sunday with the Wall Street Journal, that Indonesia could rejoin the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries if its oil production were to exceed consumption again.

Indonesia withdrew from OPEC in January 2009 amid declining output from its aging fields. Indonesia produced a mere 978,000 barrels a day of crude oil a day in 2008, down from peaks of 1.6 million barrels a day in 1995.

Indonesia aims to boost oil output to 1.1 million barrels a day by 2015 with smaller discoveries coming on stream. Indonesia is also looking to reign domestic oil consumption through the use of biofuels, geothermal energy and other renewable energies to her energy mix.

In the mean time, an official at Indonesian Energy Watchdog BPMigas said Indonesia was unlikely to meet its production targets for 2010, citing technical hitches, aging fields and under-investment as primary reasons.

Amir Hamzah, head of public relations division at BPMigas, told Reuters in an interview, “The crude oil and condensate production may not reach 960,000 bpd this year. That is because of many problems with the oil wells.”

“Some wells have been shut down due to technical problems during this year, plus there was a natural decline from ageing wells, which caused production to fall," he added.

While several major players like Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Total operate in Indonesia, investments in the region are slow, due to an uncertain business climate and policies.

In a bid to encourage exploration and new investments, Indonesia has offered new exploration rights and has said it will offer new incentives to oil and gas investors, including more favourable tax treatment and production split.

The 3^rd Indonesian Oil Gas and Power (3^rd Indo OGP) conference, which meets in Jakarta on 14-15 April, will provide clarity on Policies and Strategies to Speed up Developments in indonesia’s oil sector, with updates from regulators, industry watchdogs and industry executives alike.

Those keen on attending 3^rd Indo OGP can submit their registrations online. >>Click here to access the online registration form.<<