13 January 2023 – The Supporting Committee for the Project (SCP) of the Decommissioning & Re-utilization Pilot Project of Platform Attaka-EB has met to conclude the first offshore decommissioning project in Indonesia. The meeting was held through video conference from both Jakarta, Indonesia, and Sejong, Korea.

The role of the SCP is to evaluate the implementation of the Implementing Arrangement (IA) of the Pilot Project, resolve any issues arising thereof, report the progress of the project to the Joint Committee, and identify any potential projects to come. Equal decision-making is supported within the SCP, as it has to respect all the stakeholders involved in this project.

In this SCP, Mr Nanang Widiyatmojo, Assistant Deputy of Navigation and Maritime safety of the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment (CMMAI) of the Republic of Indonesia, along with Ms Roh Jae-ok, the Director of Marine Development Division of the Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (KMOF), co-chaired the meeting. In attendance were other stakeholders, namely representatives from CMMAI; KMOF; the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries of the Republic of Indonesia; the Special Task Force for Upstream Oil and Gas Business Activities (SKK Migas); PT Pertamina Hulu Kalimantan Timur; KHAN Offshore; the Indonesian Navy Hydrographic and Oceanographic Center; the Fisheries Agency of Bontang City; The Korea Institute of Marine Science and Technology Promotion; and the Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering.

To commence, the Joint Project Team, which consists of PT Pertamina Hulu Kalimantan Timur (PHKT) and KHAN Offshore delivered their report. The presentation, led by Mr. JN Yoon, the Project Manager for this project, explained the decommissioning process in its entirety and some unfortunate and unpredictable challenges that hindered the scope of the project. Nonetheless, the project operators still managed to work with the situation and completed the dismantlement of the platform.

Following the Joint Project Team presentation, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) presented the site monitoring plan of the platform. For context, the dismantled Attaka-EB platform was transformed into an artificial reef off the coast of Bontang. This process provides a multitude of benefits in the long run for the marine ecosystem, as it supports coral growth and the marine life surrounding it, and subsequently will profit the community around the area (the spillover effect). As it will take time to reach its full potential, which will be an estimated three to four years, the artificial reef needs to be studied and monitored periodically. KKP hopes that Rig re-utilization in Indonesia will be as successful as in the case of the Gulf of Mexico.

Furthermore, the meeting agreed on certain amendments to the project IA, and discussed the upcoming Joint Committee for the Offshore Plant Service Industry that will be held in Indonesia in March. This Joint Committee will review and advise plans for cooperation in the Offshore Plant and Service Industry; evaluate the implementation of programs; and identify potential projects for future cooperation.

Despite the pandemic and other setbacks, all parties are equally pleased with the outcome of this project. It is hoped that the success of this project spearheads other decommissioning projects in Indonesia, as there are hundreds of idle offshore platforms left waiting to be re-utilized.