Indonesia's 2022 Oil, Gas Lifting Below Target, but Investment Rising

Indonesia's oil and gas lifting last year came in below target due to unplanned shutdowns and maturing blocks, but exploration and production investment is poised to take off, the country's upstream regulator SKK Migas said on Wednesday.

Indonesia's crude oil lifting stood at 612,300 barrels per day (bpd) last year and gas lifting at 5,347 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd), SKK Migas chief Dwi Soetjipto told a briefing. Both came in below targets of 703,000 bpd oil lifting and 5,800 mmscfd respectively.

For 2023, oil lifting is targeted at 660,000 bpd and gas lifting is targeted at 6,160 mmscfd. Liquefied natural gas output is seen at 204 to 206 cargoes this year, up from last year's 196 cargoes.

Two projects that were delayed from last year would come onstream this year and help increase output, SKK Migas officials said, including BP's Tangguh Train-3.

Indonesia is aiming to increase its crude oil lifting to 1 million bpd by 2030 and is boosting efforts to attract investment.

Upstream investment last year stood at $12.3 billion, up from $10.9 billion in 2021, Dwi said, while in 2023, investment is targeted at $15.54 billion.

The number of drillings, which has been on a downward trend in the past ten years, started to rise last year, SKK Migas data showed.

The regulator also approved in 2022 development plans for a number of oil and gas projects with a combined investment of $22.89 billion over the next few years, official Benny Lubiantara said. This year, SKK Migas may approve development plans for up to 45 new projects, he added.

STRATEGIC PROJECTS

SKK Migas chief Dwi said he hopes development of strategic projects such as the Indonesia Deepwater Development (IDD) and Masela gas blocks could resume soon.

Chevron is close to reaching a deal with an investor to transfer its stake and operatorship of IDD, Dwi said. Chevron announced in early 2020 its intention to exit the project as it makes sweeping changes to its global portfolio.

"Chevron and the candidate who will take over have agreed that this could be concluded in the first quarter," Dwi said.

SKK Migas hopes IDD can come onstream by 2028.

Chevron did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

Meanwhile, Indonesian state energy company Pertamina is currently negotiating to take over Shell's partnership in the Masela gas project, Dwi said.

(Reuters -Reporting by Fransiska Nangoy, Bernadette Christina Munthe; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor)