UK supermajor BP has ambitious plans to invest up to $4 billion to further expand its Tangguh liquefied natural gas project in Indonesia with the development of its Ubadari gas field and the implementation of a carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) scheme.

The move would not only help both the operator and Indonesia reduce their greenhouse gas emissions but could also make Tangguh's LNG more attractive to customers that are seeking so-called "green" cargoes.

The CCUS scheme forms part of the plan of development for the next phase that BP submitted to the government earlier this year. The advanced technology will cover all the Tangguh fields and set the project on course to reduce emissions and increase production, a company spokesperson told Upstream.

"We will continue to work closely with [upstream regulator] SKK Migas to ensure that we can have the proposed plan approved and executed," they added.

This suggests that at least some of the captured volumes could be reinjected to boost output and recovery from the fields that supply feedstock gas.

Operator BP has already submitted an environmental and social impact assessment, known locally as Amdal, for the envisaged phased expansion of the Tangguh LNG project.

Future expansion plans already outlined in the Amdal involve securing further gas feedstock for the under-construction Train 3 and potentially adding a fourth liquefaction train.

BP’s Amdal reveals this mooted second expansion includes up to nine offshore platforms with as many as 16 well slots on each platform, including one drill cuttings reinjection (DCRI) well for each platform if this is considered feasible, and up to nine subsea pipelines.

Supporting facilities for this second expansion phase would also see an additional LNG tank and one more condensate tank plus a fourth liquefaction train if BP, its Tangguh partners and the Indonesian government deem it feasible.

BP did not comment specifically on a future fourth train when approached by Upstream.

Implementation of CCUS at the soon-to-be three-train Tangguh liquefaction project in West Papua will also help support Indonesia’s commitment to reduce its carbon emissions 29% to 41% by 2030 versus business as usual, as part of the Paris Agreement aimed at tackling climate change.

Sitting down with SKK Migas

BP and SKK Migas are set this month to discuss the technical and economic aspects of both the Ubadari field development and the Tangguh CCUS scheme.

The projected carbon dioxide emissions from the Train 3 expansion project alone are expected to total around 3.1 million tonnes per annum.

The initial Tangguh expansion phase — which is now expected to complete early next year after delays due to bad weather and the coronavirus pandemic — involves construction of a third 3.8 million tpa liquefaction train, two new offshore platforms, 13 gas production wells, three reinjection wells and four infill wells.

Additional facilities in this initial expansion phase following the original two-train 7.4 million tpa Tangguh liquefaction project include new LNG and condensate tanks, a bulk offloading jetty and a combined LNG-condensate jetty.

This expansion phase is expected to add a further 700 million cubic feet per day of gas production plus 3000 barrels per day of condensate.

The unitised Tangguh project comprises six fields, including Vorwata, Wiriagar Deep, Roabiba, Ofaweri and Ubadari. Vorwata is estimated to hold 75% of the total existing gas resources and currently supplies feedstock to trains 1 and 2. It will also deliver part of the volumes to Train 3.

Exploiting the other fields plus prospective fields such as Kepe-Kepe and Teteruga will be required to supply additional gas to Train 3 and any future trains.

BP noted the Tangguh LNG expansion project was encouraged by increased reserves at Vorwata, which were recertified by local third party consultants.

The recertification put Tangguh’s total proven reserves at 16.9 trillion cubic feet of gas, which could increase to as much as 20.8 Tcf of gas if the potential reserves of the Wiriagar Deep, Roabiba, Ofaweri and Ubadari fields are taken into consideration.

The two existing trains and the third under construction require a total of 14.4 Tcf of gas to operate at full capacity.

Gas reserves for the proposed Train 4 may be sourced from an existing field or from one yet to be discovered in the vicinity.

Tangguh started LNG production 12 years ago and the expansion project involving Train 3 was sanctioned in early 2016.

The Ubadari-1 wildcat, which was drilled in 1997, discovered gas in the Middle Jurassic Roabiba and Palaeocene sandstone reservoirs.

However, the Ubadari-2 well sunk the following year to test a structure eight kilometres down dip of the discovery encountered no hydrocarbons.

Reprocessing of legacy ocean-bottom cable data acquired in 2010 proved successful for BP as the improved imaging led it to drill the Ubadari Deep well, the operator’s first exploration well in Indonesia for five years.

BP in 2017 and 2018 acquired an ultra-high-density ocean-bottom node survey to support the future development of the Tangguh gas fields.

Partners in the Tangguh project are operator BP, MI Berau, CNOOC, Nippon Oil Exploration, KG Berau, KG Wiriagar and Indonesia Natural Gas Resources Muturi.

LNG

BP hatching up to $4bn plan to expand Indonesian LNG project