“We are continuing to make steady progress on this project. At the end of this year or start of the next year we are making the preparations to start the FEED,” Ueda said during the company’s H1 results presentation on Thursday.
He said the company is conducting various initiates such as onshore and offshore geophysical and geotechnical surveys.
Earlier this year, Dutch firm Fugro secured a marine survey contract from a unit of Inpex for the Abadi project.
Ueda said Inpex will execute FEED for the FPSO, the subsea umbilicals, risers, and flowlines (SURF), the gas export pipeline (GEP) and CCS pipeline, and the onshore LNG plant.
The company’s results report shows that it has already started the tender for FEED execution.
Inpex is aiming for “early FID and production start-up in close coordination and cooperation with new partners, Pertamina and Petronas,” it said in the report.
Following a final investment decision, Inpex expects to start production in “around 2030”.
Inpex previously said it could take FID in mid-2020s.
LNG Prime contacted Inpex to provide more details regarding Abadi FEED and FID.
A spokesman for Inpex said “FEED may begin as early as this year, depending on circumstances including government approvals, etc.”
“I cannot go into any more detail concerning FEED at this point,” he said.
The Inpex-operated project has seen many changes over the years and initially, the development of the Masela offshore block involved a floating LNG plant, while it now includes a 9.5 mtpa onshore LNG plant with an estimated cost of about $20 billion.
Inpex said in December 2023 it had received written approval for the revised plan of development for the Abadi LNG project, which includes a CCS component.
Prior to that, Shell completed the sale in October of its 35 percent stake in Indonesia’s Masela PSC, which includes the planned Abadi LNG project, to Pertamina Hulu Energi and Petronas Masela.
Indonesia’s Pertamina now owns a 20 percent stake and Malaysia’s Petronas has a 15 percent stake in the PSC.
Inpex holds 65 percent operating interest in Masela PSC and is the operator of the Abadi LNG project.
