Indonesia prioritises domestic needs over LNG exports

The country’s hunger for energy will continue to compete with its LNG exports, even as more gas projects progress and new liquefaction capacity comes online

Indonesia’s ambitions of reviving its mature upstream gas sector are bearing fruit, especially as Italian IOC Eni’s Kutei Basin gas hub plans recently reached another key milestone. But reversing the previous decline in output will take time, which combined with swelling domestic demand will continue to impinge on the country’s LNG export capabilities. The Indonesian government has approved Eni’s plans for a gas hub in the Kutei Basin, giving the green light to the plan of development (POD) for the Geng North (North Ganal PSC) and Gehem (Rapak PSC) gas fields—which together will form the basin’s northern hub—as well as a separate POD for the Gendalo and Gandang fields in the nearby Ganal PSC