May 23, 2012

Tangguh to supply LNG for PLN in 2013: Minister

Rangga D. Fadillah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 05/24/2012 9:03 AM

The Tangguh liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Papua will supply 230 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of gas to state power utility PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) starting 2013, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik says.

He revealed that the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between BP, operator of the plant, and PLN would be conducted on Thursday at the ministry.

“The LNG delivery will start in 2013. BP will also cooperate with PLN to generate electricity for Bintuni regency,” he announced at a press conference after the opening of the 36th Indonesian Petroleum Association (IPA) Convention and Exhibition in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The ministry’s director general for oil and gas, Evita Herawati Legowo, said no decision had yet been made on where the LNG would be located. It might be at the new floating storage and re-gasification unit (FSRU) in Jakarta Bay, the planned FSRU in Lampung or the LNG plant in Arun, Aceh, which would be converted into a receiving terminal.

“But, seeing the gas delivery will start in 2013, it will be most likely be at the West Java FSRU,” she said.

The 230 mmscfd of gas is equal to 1.7 million tons of LNG or 1 cargo. The gas is the allocation of US-based Sempra Energy that has not been not taken up.

Upstream oil and gas regulator BPMigas sealed an agreement with the company earlier this month to take back 90 percent of Sempra’s 60 cargoes annual LNG allocation and use it for domestic purposes or sell it on the spot market.

Different from Evita, PLN’s division head for oil-based fuels and gas, Suryadi Mardjoeki, said the LNG from Tangguh might be placed at the Arun receiving terminal because the gas would be used for PLN’s power plants in Medan, North Sumatra, and Aceh.

“But the price has not been decided yet. We’re still waiting for the energy and mineral resources minister’s decision,” he revealed.

The Tangguh gas field has a total production capacity of 7.6 million tons per annum (mtpa). In addition to the 3.7 mtpa sent to Sempra, 2.64 mtpa of LNG is delivered to Fujian in China on a 25-year contract. The remaining production is exported to Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

The plant currently has two trains with a capacity of 3.8 mtpa each. BP started the operation of the first train in February 2009 and the second train in July the same year.

Evita said taking Sempra’s allocation for PLN would be temporary because in the future, the LNG would come from the Tangguh plant’s third train.

The third train is projected to also have a total production capacity of 3.8 mtpa and is scheduled to begin commercial operations in 2018.

Minister Jero said BP had asked the ministry to accelerate the approval for the plan of development (POD) for the third train in 45 days only.

“I said to the company, I can do it even faster,” he claimed.

BPMigas deputy for planning Haposan Napitupulu welcomed Jero’s optimism. He said the agency could process the approval in 30 days at the maximum.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/05/24/tangguh-supply-lng-pln-2013-minister.html

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