Saipem, through its subsidiary PT Saipem Indonesia, in partnership with PT Tripatra Engineers and Constructors, has secured an Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation (EPCI) contract for a Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit in the Kutei Basin, East Kalimantan, Indonesia (Saipem press release, 07/07/2026).
The Kutei FPSO forms part of the broader Kutei North Hub Development, which includes a subsea development connected to a newly constructed FPSO, together with a dedicated gas export pipeline linking the development to the Bontang LNG Plant and domestic gas consumers through the existing East Kalimantan System.
- The project involves the drilling of 16 production wells, along with the installation of subsea infrastructure connected to the new FPSO.
- The unit will be designed to process more than 1 bcf/d (10.3 bcm/year) and 90 kb/d of condensate, while providing a storage capacity of 1.4 mbl.
- The contract was awarded by Eni North Ganal, a company controlled by Searah, the business combination company created by Eni and Petronas.
According to the company’s press release, the project is expected to be completed over approximately 48 months and covers project management, detailed engineering, material procurement, fabrication, construction, installation, as well as the commissioning and start-up of the FPSO.
Indonesia’s natural gas production rose remained stable in 2025 at 70.5 bcm, after decreasing regularly from 2010 to 2023 (-3.4%/year). The rapid growth in the country’s natural gas production seen in the 1990s (6%/year) slowed down over the 2000 decade because of depleting fields (0.6%/year between 2000 and 2008). Future output is expected to be bolstered by major recent offshore discoveries, such as the Geng North field and the South Andaman basin (Enerdata Global Energy Research).