Inpex Corp , Japan's top oil and gas developer, said on Friday its joint venture with a Japanese government affiliate will sell a 30 percent stake in Indonesia's Abadi gas field in the Masela block of the Timor Sea to Royal Dutch Shell , Reuters reports.The joint venture, in which Inpex holds 52 percent and Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp (JOGMEC) 48 percent, will retain a 60 percent stake and the remaining 10 percent will be held by the project's other operator, PT EMP Energi Indonesia.
Shell has been selected as a strategic partner for the project to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) floating terminal, a new technology, Inpex said in a statement.
"We expect a significant contribution from Shell, which has expertise in the LNG business. Its Prelude project off the coast of Australia is also using the technology of floating LNG terminals," said Inpex spokesman, Kazuhiko Itano.
Shell's Prelude project will likely be the first floating LNG project online, according to industry experts, although several other projects are also due to come online before the end of the decade.
Currently, the two operators for the Abadi project are preparing for its front-end engineering and design (FEED), aiming to start the process in the first half of 2012.
Asked if the timing of the final investment decision is by the end of 2013, as Inpex said in December, the spokesman said it would depend on the development of the FEED process.
The government of Indonesia has approved an initial development plan for the project with a floating LNG plant with annual output capacity of 2.5 million tonnes.
Shell has been selected as a strategic partner for the project to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) floating terminal, a new technology, Inpex said in a statement.
"We expect a significant contribution from Shell, which has expertise in the LNG business. Its Prelude project off the coast of Australia is also using the technology of floating LNG terminals," said Inpex spokesman, Kazuhiko Itano.
Shell's Prelude project will likely be the first floating LNG project online, according to industry experts, although several other projects are also due to come online before the end of the decade.
Currently, the two operators for the Abadi project are preparing for its front-end engineering and design (FEED), aiming to start the process in the first half of 2012.
Asked if the timing of the final investment decision is by the end of 2013, as Inpex said in December, the spokesman said it would depend on the development of the FEED process.
The government of Indonesia has approved an initial development plan for the project with a floating LNG plant with annual output capacity of 2.5 million tonnes.