Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 13 -- Indonesia's state-owned PT Pertamina, PT Medco Energi Internasional, and Japan's Mitsubishi Corp. plan to build a 2 million tonne/year LNG plant at Senoro on the island of Sulawesi. Construction is projected to begin in 2007, with completion targeted for 2009.
The Senoro gas field, which has proved reserves of 2.3 tcf of gas, will provide gas to the plant, which will cost some $1 billion, with $600-800 million to be invested by Mitsubishi.
Pertamina Vice-Pres. Iin Arifin Takhyan said Mitsubishi will be an offtaker of LNG from the project, while Medco Pres. Hilmi Panigoro said the Indonesian government already has approved plans to export LNG from the plant to Japan.
In late November, Pertamina and Medco announced they were still in the process of selecting a Japanese partner for the 2 million tonne/year liquefaction plant they planned to build in Senoro (OGJ Online, Nov. 27, 2006).
The decision over Mitsubishi comes within a framework of wider cooperation on energy between Japan and Indonesia signed in November. The agreement calls for cooperation in ensuring stable supplies of energy and mineral resources, including LNG, from Indonesia to Japan.
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].
