TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
PLN mulls importing LNG amid likely shortfall in local gas supply
Imports may be necessary amid declining supply from local pipeline natural gas and sliding domestic gas production.
Change Size
The Oyong oil and gas rig in the Sampang Block, located in the Madura Strait, off the coast of East Java. Medco took over the block from Ophir Energy in 2019 after Medco acquired Ophir. (SKK Migas/SKK Migas)
S
tate-owned electricity company PLN is looking import its first-ever liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments to make up for a potential gas supply shortfall in the country.
PLN has not previously imported LNG despite being permitted to do so by the government since 2017, as domestic supply has been sufficient to meet PLN’s demand for electricity generation.
In 2017 Indonesia imported US$8.1 million worth of LNG from Kuwait, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data.
Mamit Setiawan, spokesperson of PLN’s primary energy arm PLN Energi Primer Indonesia (PLN EPI) said the firm was engaged in an application process for an LNG import permit from the government to anticipate a possible shortage in the second half of this year.
However, the company has also been developing long-term solutions such as the development of midstream LNG infrastructure.
“The plan to increase the gas-based generator quota by 20 gigawatts [GW] by 2040 requires a significant gas supply, which must be secured from this point on,” he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
“Gas plants will be the backbone of PLN’s electricity generation to overcome the renewable energy plants’ intermittency challenge in Indonesia’s energy-transition efforts.”
