After discovering approximately 600 Bcf of gas in place at the Konta-1 exploration well in the Kutei Basin offshore Indonesia, Eni is considering a fast-track development.
The Italian company announced the discovery in the Muara Bakau PSC on 9 December. Early estimates indicate 600 Bcf of gas initially in place and a potential upside exceeding 1 Tcf for the discovery about 50 km off the coast of East Kalimantan in Indonesia.
Konta-1 was drilled to a depth of 4,575 m in 570-m water depth. It encountered gas in four separate sandstone reservoirs of Miocene age with good petrophysical properties. Eni ran an extensive data acquisition campaign, and a production test in one of the reservoirs flowed up to 31 MMcf/D of gas and approximately 700 B/D of condensate.
Based on the production test results, the company said the well has an estimated potential to produce 80 MMcf/D of gas and about 1,600 B/D of condensate from multiple reservoirs.
While preliminary estimates suggest a discovered volume of 600 Bcf of gas in place in the four reservoirs, Eni said additional reservoir segments in the Konta Prospect area—not penetrated by the well, but with similar gas signature— may bring the overall volumes beyond 1 Tcf.
Because the Konta discovery is near existing facilities and discoveries, the company is evaluating options for a fast-track development. Eni also said the discovery provides confidence needed to continue the planned exploration drilling campaign, which calls for drilling four additional wells in the Kutei Basin in 2026.
Eni operates the Muara Bakau PSC that contains the Konta discovery with 88.3% interest on behalf of Saka Energi, which holds the remaining 11.7% interest.
In November, Eni and Petronas announced an agreement to establish a joint venture for operations in Indonesia and Malaysia. The new company plans to invest more than $15 billion over 5 years to develop at least eight new projects and drill 15 exploration wells. The aim is to develop 3 billion BOE of discovered reserves and unlock an estimated 10 billion BOE of unrisked exploration potential. Closing is expected in 2026.
The Muara Bakau block is one of the blocks that will be managed by the new joint venture company.