Total said shallow gas was released during drilling of the C9 well by the jack-up Ensco-1. No-one was hurt in the incident and the operator cut the flow of gas from the well, and has launched an investigation. The Ensco I barge suffered minimal damage from the incident.
Production from the Tunu field currently stands at 1.4 billion cubic feet of gas per day and Total supplies natural gas to eight Bontang liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants in East Kalimantan.
Equal partners in the Mahakam production sharing contract, where Tunu is located, are Total and Japanese outfit Inpex.
