S

tate oil and gas firm PT Pertamina and state electricity utility PT PLN have agreed to jointly establish a liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipping company to supply eight mini LNG receiving terminals to be installed in eastern Indonesia.

PLN primary energy director Nur Pamudji said he expected that the preparation to set up the new company would be completed this year at the latest. “The working group is now discussing the plan, including the number of vessels and their capacity. We hope to complete the preparation this year,” he told reporters via text message on Monday.

However, he rejected to disclose the investment value and the ownership share between PLN and Pertamina in the planned company.

Pertamina spokesman Mochamad Harun confirmed the plan to establish the new company, saying that it was a follow up of the MoU signing between the two state firms on the development of eight mini LNG terminals in March this year.

He reported that the State-owned Enterprises Ministry and the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry had approved the plan. The ministries fully supported the plan as it was suitable to improve synergy among state companies, he claimed.

“We have no problem with the ministries. This plan is positive because it promotes synergy among state-owned enterprises,” said Harun. The shipping company was scheduled to begin operation after the construction of the first LNG terminal had been completed, he added.

In March, PLN and Pertamina signed an agreement to build eight mini LNG plants, which aimed to help the electricity company ensure gas supply for its power plants in eastern Indonesia and improve its operational efficiency.

The development of the eight receiving terminals will be divided into three phases. In the first phase, four terminals will be built in Bontang and Balikpapan in East Kalimantan, Pasanggaran in Bali, and Kendari in Southeast Sulawesi.

In the second phase, two terminals will be set up in Mataram in West Nusa Tenggara and Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan. Those terminals will begin operation in 2013. The remaining two terminals will be constructed in Gorontalo and Halmahera, North Maluku, and are scheduled to start operation in 2015.

Pertamina data shows that the eight LNG receiving terminals would have a combined total capacity of 177 million standard cubic feet per day.

Gas terminals are more suited to the region as there are not enough gas pipelines to transport the gas in eastern Indonesia as there are in western Indonesia, Pertamina president director Karen Agustiawan said in earlier reports.

JP/Rangga D. Fadillah