Abstract: Coalbed Methane: A Partial Solution to Indonesia's Growing Energy Problems

D. Keith Murray, John P. Gold

Indonesia contains the largest resources of coal in Southeast Asia. Indonesian scientists estimate that the in-place coalbed methane resource in 16 onshore basins is about 213 Tcf (~6 Tcm). This volume is approximately double Indonesia's current reserves of natural gas.

Indonesia is a rapidly industrializing nation of 186 million people, of which 111 million live in Java and 38 million in Sumatra. As industrialization progresses from the present low level, the growth in energy demand will be very rapid. Indonesia's domestic gas demand is expected to increase from 1.6 Bcf/d (0.05 Bcm/d) in 1991 to 5.7 Bcf/d (0.2 Bcm/d) in 2021. Because the major gas resources of East Kalimantan, North Sumatra, and Natuna are so remote from the main consuming area in northwest Java and are dedicated for export by virtue of the national energy policy, the need is becoming urgent to develop new resources of natural gas, including coalbed methane, for the domestic market.

Due to the high geothermal gradient, the coal deposits in the back-arc basins of Sumatra and Java are expected to be of higher than normal rank at depths favorable for coalbed methane production. The oil- and gas-productive Jatibarang sub-basin in northwest Java, with estimated in-place resources of coalbed methane in excess of 20 Tcf (0.6 Tcm), is considered to be the most prospective area in Indonesia for the near-term development of coalbed methane. This area includes Jakarta and vicinity, the most populous and most heavily industrialized part of Indonesia.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90958©1995 AAPG Pacific Section Meeting, San Francisco, California