The Minister of Energy of Indonesia announced that the Merakes offshore gas field in the East Sepinggan PSC (Makassar Strait, East Kalimantan) will begin gas production in 2021 at an initial rate of 155 mcf/d (4.4 mcm/d) and then raise to a peak output of 391 mcf/d (11.1 mcm/d). The field's plan of development (PoD) was approved in April 2018 and Eni hopes to pipe natural gas from Merakes to the Bontang LNG processing facility in East Kalimantan.
The potential of the Merakes gas field is estimated at 2 Tcf (56.6 bcm) and the field is located just 35 km south of the Jangkrik deep water gas field, whose production started in May 2017. The proximity of the Merakes discovery to the Jangkrik FPU will allow Eni to maximize the synergies with existing infrastructures and to reduce costs and time of the execution of this second deep water development in Indonesia.
The field will be operated by Eni with a 85% stake while Indonesia's state-held company Pertamina holds the remaining 15%. Eni has been operating in Indonesia since 2001, with an average equity production of 17,000 boe/d. It holds a 85% stake in the East Sepinggan PSC, with the remainder owned by Indonesia's oil company Pertamina.