Foreign Scientists in East Java to Study Lapindo Mudflow

- Foreign Scientists in East Java to Study Lapindo Mudflow

Thursday, May 26, 2011
Asia Pulse Pte Ltd.

Scientists from a few foreign countries including Germany and Britain have arrived in Sidoarjo to observe and study the center of the 5-year-old Lapindo mudflow in the Porong area.

"We have come here to observe from close quarters the conditions of the Lapindo mudflow," Jeffrey Richard, executive director of Humanitus, said on Wednesday.

The center of the mudflow is located near the Banjar Panji I well drilled by Lapindo Brantas oil and gas company in Porong.

The scientists would study the hot mud that has been surging from a hole in the ground for the past five years without any sign of abating.

"We have assembled scientists from several countries who will try to determine what had created the continuing mudflow considered to be the biggest of its kind in the world," Jeffrey said.

He said it had been estimated the phenomenon could last for up to 25 to 30 more years.

All the members of the scientists team would each do their individual observations on the mudflow`s center and later meet to discuss their findings.

There had so far been a difference of views among geologists about what caused the mudflow. Some of them had said the mudflow came into being by a drilling mistake but others attributed it to a natural development.

British geologist Richard Davies was "99 percent" convinced the mudflow had been caused by a drilling mistake.

"We will also conduct a further study on what impacts the mudflow will have in the future," Davies said.

Meanwhile, Russian geologist Sergey Kadurin said the mudflow was a result of a natural occurrence, as had been the case in similar phenomena in other countries.

"It could have been related to the existence of an underground volcano in the past that had been forgotten by the local populace," he said.

The results of the studies of the foreign scientists would eventually be written down and published in a book.

(C) 2011 Asia Pulse Pte Ltd.

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Golar LNG Notes Execution of West Java FSRU

Golar LNG Notes Execution of West Java FSRU

Friday, April 22, 2011
Golar LNG Energy

Golar LNG announced that the long term Floating Storage and Regasification (FSRU) and Mooring time charter with PT Nusantara
Regas, a joint venture between Pertamina and PGN (West Java FSRU Project) has been concluded and was executed on April 20, 2011.

The contract duration is for an initial term of approximately eleven years with automatic conditional extension options up to 2025. The West Java FSRU Project contract value for the initial period is approximately US $500 million.

Since the execution of the Letter of Intent in November 2010, Golar has ordered the long lead items, carried out conversion engineering and the vessel nominated for this contract, KHANNUR has been positioned to Singapore where the physical conversion works are now underway at Jurong Shipyard in Singapore.

Upon completion of conversion and delivery in the first quarter of 2012, KHANNUR will be permanently moored at a purpose built mooring structure located 15 km offshore West Java. The converted KHANNUR will be capable of storing ~ 125,000 cubic meters of LNG and delivering up to 500 MMSCFD (~3.8 MTA) of regasified LNG via Nusantara Regas's pipeline to fuel for two Power Plants owned and operated by Perusahaan Listrik Negara ("PLN"), Indonesia's national power company.

The Golar group has already completed three FSRU conversions over the last three years. The FSRU for the West Java FSRU Project will be similar in design to the latest of these three projects, the GOLAR FREEZE, which recently delivered under a long term contract in Dubai. The West Java FSRU Project will be Indonesia's first LNG regasifcation terminal and significantly, the first FSRU project in Asia. Golar is currently bidding on PGN's FSRU, Mooring and Pipeline tender to be located offshore Medan, Sumatra.

Golar Energy's FSRU technology offers reliable and cost effective solutions to fast track the import and regasification of LNG.

Golar Energy's CEO, Doug Arnell said "We are very proud to have executed this foundation agreement for the West Java project. We also wish to express our appreciation to the Nusantara Regas team for their dedication in finalizing the contract. We believe this contract for Indonesia and Asia's first FSRU will be the catalyst for the development of additional floating LNG projects within the Asia Pacific region. Indonesia has announced plans for more FSRU projects to include small scale LNG projects and we look forward to having the opportunity to deliver more fast track and low cost solutions."