PLN finds partner for CNG sea transport

State power company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) has revealed a plan to team up with Mandiri Nunukan, owned by the Nunukan administration in East Kalimantan, to develop marine compressed natural gas (CNG) transportation.

They aim to transport gas from the Simenggaris block, operated by Pertamina and Medco, to Nunukan and Tarakan, according to Suryadi Mardjoeki, PLN’s division head for oil-based fuels and gas.

“Mandiri Nunukan has 5 million standard cubic feet per day [mmscfd] of gas allocation from Simenggaris.

“We want to convert it into CNG and transport it to the two regencies via CNG vessel,” he told reporters in Jakarta on Friday.

“We aim to begin CNG delivery in October. It takes around eight months. The regional enterprise has affirmed its readiness to supply the CNG. We plan to sign the gas sales agreement in June.”

PLN and the regional enterprise were currently negotiating the price of the gas, and would later install converters to turn the CNG into gas at its power plant in Nunukan and Tarakan, he said.

Currently, the two power plants were able to use both gas and oil-based fuels.

“The supply will first be sent to Tarakan to prevent blackouts there, since there is a decline of gas supply from the Tarakan block from seven mmscfd to three. Six months from now, the gas will run out,” he said.

The Tarakan power plant has a total capacity of 20 megawatts (MW), equal to 140 kiloliters of oil-based fuel per day. If the company uses gas, it could save around US$80,000 per day.

“The CNG price may be around $12 per million British thermal units [Btu]. Mandiri Nunukan will
convert the gas into CNG, PLN will pay it in the form of CNG,” Suryadi said.

In January, PLN signed an agreement with Italian consulting company RINA to develop marine CNG transportation. The company claimed the project would involve an advanced transportation technology that has never been implemented anywhere in the world.

Earlier, the company announced a plan to build three power plants using CNG in Bengkanai in Central Kalimantan, Tanjung Batu in East Kalimantan and Makassar in South Sulawesi, with a combined capacity of 380 megawatts.

In Jambi, PLN has also started the construction of CNG storage facilities. The CNG will be used during peak hours to improve operational efficiency.

The CNG installation is planned to be built near the Sei Gelam 1 gas-well, with a production capacity of 2.5 mmscfd.

The electricity firm plans to convert between 30 and 50 mmscfd of gas from the Terang Sirasun Batur field off East Java, operated by Kangean Energy, into CNG. The field was scheduled to supply gas to the power company this month, with a total volume of 150 mmscfd.

— JP/ Rangga D. Fadillah