Empyrean partner signs subsea contract for Mako gas field development

(Sharecast News) - Empyrean Energy said on Friday that the operator of the Duyung production sharing contract had signed a binding contract for subsea engineering, procurement, construction and installation work to support development of the Mako gas field in Indonesia.

The AIM-traded oil and gas company, which has interests in Australia, Indonesia and the US, said Conrad Asia Energy and its majority-owned subsidiary West Natuna Exploration Limited had executed the contract with PT Timas Suplindo.

It said the contract covers the subsea umbilical, flowline and riser, or SURF, engineering, procurement, construction and installation package for the Mako Gas Project.

The scope included verification of front-end engineering and design, detailed engineering for flowlines, export pipeline, risers, subsea structures and umbilical systems, as well as procurement, fabrication, offshore installation, tie-ins, pre-commissioning and commissioning support.

Empyrean said a formal signing ceremony between Timas and West Natuna Exploration took place in Jakarta on 7 May.

The Mako project was planned as a two-phase development, initially comprising six development wells tied back to a leased mobile offshore production unit with design capacity of 172 million standard cubic feet per day.

Sales gas would be transported through an approximately 59-kilometre, 18-inch pipeline to the KF platform in the adjoining Kakap PSC, before delivery through the WNTS pipeline to the Indonesian domestic market.

The company reiterated that total capital expenditure to first gas was estimated at $320m on a 100% basis.

"Empyrean is pleased to see another major milestone achieved for the Mako Gas Project as the development phase continues to progress rapidly," said chief executive and technical director Gaz Bisht.

"The execution of the SURF EPCI contract represents another important step toward first gas and reflects the strong momentum now established across the project following FID and commencement of key execution activities."

At 1526 BST, shares in Empyrean Energy were flat at 0.06p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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