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nticipating growing natural gas demand from domestic users, PT Pertamina Gas (Pertagas), a subsidiary of state oil and gas firm PT Pertamina, has revealed that it plans to acquire gas blocks overseas.

Company president director Gunung Sardjono Hadi said the plan had been proposed to Pertamina’s upstream division and was now under discussion. After acquiring the blocks, Pertagas aimed to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants.

“One day, Indonesia may become a gas importer and therefore we have to be ready with the infrastructure and the gas sources. If we make LNG plants in overseas blocks, we can bring the gas to Indonesia,” he said at a media workshop at Pertamina’s office in Jakarta on Thursday.

“The acquisition plan has been proposed through Pertamina’s 2012 budget and work plan [RKAP]. I suggest that the budget for acquisitions is divided for two purposes: 70 percent to acquire oil blocks and 30 percent for gas blocks,” he added.

Indonesia should be like Korea or Japan, which had no gas reserves, but operated many gas blocks outside their countries, Gunung said. However, he declined to reveal which blocks were being eyed by Pertagas because the plan was still in the evaluation process and therefore all related information was confidential.

“The blocks may be in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East,” he hinted.

The company also revealed that it might import gas from Qatar and Australia to meet demand from the planned floating storage and re-gasification unit (FSRU) in Central Java. The terminal has a total capacity of 3 million tons per annum (mtpa).

As of today, however, only the Bontang LNG plant in East Kalimantan could supply 0.9 mtpa, equal to 200 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of gas to the terminal.

To make the operation of the terminal economical, the company at least needs to use half of the terminal’s capacity or 1.5 mtpa. The FSRU will channel 200 mmscfd to PLN and 250 mmscfd to industries in Central Java.

Pertagas currently operates transmission pipelines spanning 1,589.29 kilometers across the country. This year, the firm has set aside Rp 1.4 trillion for capital expenditures.

In the past four years, the company has recorded positive growth in net profits. In 2011, profits reached Rp 808 billion, jumping from Rp 575 billion in 2010, Rp 198 billion in 2009 and Rp 243 billion in 2008. This year, the company aims to book Rp 1.01 trillion in net profits.

On the company’s plan for an Initial Public Offering (IPO), Gunung reported Pertagas would appoint financial and legal advisors within the upcoming three months. The advisors would offer recommendations on when the company should execute the IPO plan.

“It may be this year or next year. We don’t want the price of our shares to be low on the day of the IPO,” he said.

An internal taskforce had also been established in Pertagas for the preparation of the IPO, he said. Among the duties of the taskforce was to list assets owned by Pertagas, he continued.