Seismic ship adds to Indonesia's growing offshore capability

Energy services provider PT Elnusa Tbk (Elnusa) has taken an important step in the evolution of Indonesia’s offshore marine industry with the acquisition of a seismic ship to undertake surveys in the waters off the country. Indonesia has been a cabotage market for some time, with a growing number of offshore vessels for use in the country’s offshore oil and gas industry now built in the southeast Asian country or acquired and operated by Indonesian companies.

The cabotage principle was first enacted in Indonesia in 2008 and came into force in May 2011. Under the cabotage principle, foreign flagged vessels are prohibited from operating in Indonesian waters. However, foreign flagged vessels were able to continue to operate in Indonesian waters with varied exemptions expiring between December 2012 and December 2015, depending on the type of activity and type of vessels. The exempted vessels were primarily those engaged in offshore drilling activity. Since the end of 2015, all vessels operating in Indonesian waters need to be registered in Indonesia and be Indonesian flagged, which means they must be owned by an Indonesian company (or a joint venture).

Elnusa said it sees “tremendous opportunities” to develop the marine seismic market in Indonesia, since there are still plenty of oil and gas reserves in deep water areas. This being the case, it has decided to acquire an as yet unnamed seismic vessel that it plans to use for seismic surveys to support the country’s future oil and gas exploration activity. The company said the acquisition was a response to Indonesian government policy to encourage the shipping and offshore industries in the country. It noted that only a few Indonesian-flagged seismic vessels work in Indonesia waters.

The company also noted the seismic vessel it has acquired “has some advantages and capabilities that have never been held by another Indonesian-flagged seismic vessel.” It said the vessel has the capacity to tow 12 streamers, each of up to 10km in length, “hence it is ideal for carrying out seismic surveys in deep water and is capable of producing 3D seismic data.”

The company went on to say: “It is our duty, as the only national asset that has competence and experience in integrated oil and gas services, to work and develop the marine seismic market in Indonesia. We are ready to fully support the programme of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of the Republic of Indonesia to restore the glory of the national oil and gas production and become an oil and gas exporter and contribute to the income of the country.”

The company claims to be the only Indonesian company that has competence in every area of the offshore oil and gas market, from drilling through the supply chain. It has usually chosen to work in strategic alliances with other offshore oil and gas companies and is affiliated to Jakarta-based oil and gas and energy company PT Pertamina, which is its majority shareholder.