Optimal development planning of gas reserves

Decisions to develop gas resources in less developed countries require a careful appraisal of their possible utilization in the various sectors of the economy. Not only need major potential consumers such as petrochemical or fertilizer industries be taken into account but more diffuse phenomena such as the competition with other fuel forms for the supply of some energy intensive services or the conquest of new markets have to be considered. We present here a gas planning model based on the basic ideas of the theory of non-renewable resources which allows a look at the field development problem while simultaneously taking account of the impact competition may have on the demand side. The use of the model is illustrated on a study carried out for the World Bank on a gas timing development problem that occurred some time ago in Indonesia.