Two competing groups selected by operator to compete for a SURF contract on Indonesian gas field JAPANESE operator Inpex has selected two groups of high-profile engineering specialists to compete for a major subsea design contract linked to the Abadi liquefied natural gas project in Indonesia.
The two groups were selected following a pre-qualification exercise earlier this year and comprise a consortium between Indonesia’s Singgar Mulia and France’s Doris Group supported by Indonesia’s Asiatek Energi Mitratama; competing against the regional big-hitter Worley — the subsea muscle of which comes from its subsidiary IntecSea Engineering.
The pairings will vie for the front-end engineering and design contract for the subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines package.The SURF equipment is essential for connecting the Abadi project’s planned floating production, storage and offloading vessel to the wells on the seabed.
Contractor sources said it was a little surprising there were only two groups that had pre-qualified for the FEED contract given the high level of interest in securing such a prized job.
One influencing factor is likely to be that a company carrying out a FEED contract in Indonesia is not permitted to perform the more-lucrative engineering, procurement and construction tasks.
Inpex — headed by chief executive Takayuki Ueda — has a high level of familiarity with Doris and IntecSea Engineering through their work on the Japanense operator’s Ichthys project in Australia, where both companies are involved in one or both of the Ichthys development phases, said contractor sources.
The exact scale of the Abadi subsea infrastructure could not be confirmed as Upstream went to press but it will be significant.
Chiyoda and Synergy Engineering previously performed the preFEED work on the SURF component.
There is another major subsea FEED contract for the Abadi gas export pipeline, which will carry large volumes of gas from the offshore field to the onshore LNG processing facility.
Earlier this year, Inpex selected INDONESIAProject plans: Inpex chief executive Takayuki Ueda Photo: INPEXthree groups to bid for the pipeline FEED — TechnipFMC, Worley and the same consortium of Singgar Mulia and Doris supported by Asiatek Energi Mitratama.
Precisely when Inpex will issue the FEED bid invitations is not known, with sources suggesting 2021 now looks more likely than 2020.
There are also ongoing pre-qualifications for the Abadi FPSO and the liquefaction facility.
It is understood the pre-qualification submissions for the FPSO and LNG plant have been sent and are being finalised by Inpex.
The Abadi FPSO is envisaged as being able to handle 1.8 billion cubic feet per day of gas and have the capacity to process 36,000 barrels per day of condensate. As for the onshore plant, the two-train facility will be designed to produce 9.5 million tonnes per annum of LNG.
Pre-FEED work for the liquefaction facility was performed last year by KBR, while TechnipFMC carried out the FPSO pre-FEED.Inpex is working toward a start-up schedule in the later part of the 2020s.
The Abadi field contains estimated recoverable reserves of at least 10 trillion cubic feet of gas.
Maluku Governor Murad Ismail recently gave formal approval for the construction of a small harbour on Nustual Island within the Tanimbar islands, which will be used to support the fabrication of the Abadi onshore liquefaction facility nearby. Inpex has memoranda of understanding with local Indonesian state-owned enterprises Perusahaan Listrik Negara and Pupuk Indonesia, covering long-term domestic LNG and pipeline natural gas supply from the Abadi LNG project.
Government officials had originally hoped that firm sales deals could be agreed as early as 2021 but the industry slowdown as a result of the coronavirus pandemic could well put paid to that timeline.
Partners in the Abadi LNG project, which has been designated as being of strategic national importance by the Indonesian government, are operator Inpex with 65% and Anglo-Dutch supermajor Shell on 35%