Indonesia's Pertamina now estimates the long-awaited East Natuna block might not be ready for production until at least 2030, six years after the latest estimate of 2024, a senior official said Thursday.
"The problems are very complicated," Syamsu Alam, Pertamina's upstream director, told reporters. "The process is still long way to go. If we can make it in 2030, that's fair."
Pertamina has yet make a new assessment regarding the gas price at which the block is economically viable, Alam said.
"We have to evaluate the gas price, also whether the project is to be developed through pipeline or LNG," he said.
A production sharing contract for the block has been delayed several times.
The block contains an estimated 222 Tcf of gas with high carbon dioxide content of around 70%. About 46 Tcf of gas is thought to be recoverable, but the separation of carbon dioxide is technically challenging and costly.
The block was initially awarded to ExxonMobil in 1995. But the government terminated the company's contract in 2006 after it failed to provide a development plan by a 2005 deadline.
Pertamina became the sole owner of the block in 2008.
