Conrad Asia Energy, PGN team up to develop Aceh gas resources

Conrad Asia Energy, an Australia-listed energy company, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN), the gas subsidiary of Indonesia's state-owned Pertamina, it said on March 1. This collaboration aims to unlock the potential of gas resources in Conrad's two Aceh production sharing contracts (PSCs), Offshore North West Aceh (Meulaboh) (ONWA) and Offshore South West Aceh (Singkil) (OSWA).

Under the MoU, Conrad and PGN will cooperate in the provision of gas or LNG supply and jointly explore the commercialisation of gas resources in the shallow-water discoveries within the Aceh PSCs. The partnership will focus on the development and maintenance of small-scale LNG infrastructure, aiming to capitalise on proven solutions for deposits of this scale in Indonesia.

This year, Conrad plans to acquire 3D seismic over the cluster of discovered resources in ONWA, which currently only has sparse 2D seismic acquired in the 1970s, to better define the resource size. The 3D data may also assist in identifying new prospects in the vicinity of the cluster, where vintage 2D seismic supported 70% exploration success rates in the Miocene shallow-water carbonates, the company said.

To date, total prospective resources identified within the two PSCs amount to 15 trillion ft³ of recoverable gas of which 11 trillion ft³ are net attributable to Conrad. 

Commenting on the collaboration, Conrad Asia Energy's CEO, Miltos Xynogalas, stated, "The shallow-water discoveries are of near-term interest for PGN and appear suitable for commercialisation via small-scale LNG plants—an already proven solution for gas deposits of this size elsewhere in Indonesia."

Conrad holds 100% operated interests in both ONWA and OSWA, with the Aceh PSCs awarded in January 2023, each having a 30-year tenure.