Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent
LOS ANGELES, June 18 -- Indonesia, reversing an earlier decision, is reallocating supplies of Tangguh LNG originally earmarked for Sempra Energy LNG Marketing Corp. in order to boost the amounts available to state-owned utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN).
PLN power generation director Ali Herman Ibrahim said the decision was made during a June 14 meeting with the upstream oil and gas executive agency BP Migas. Ali said BP Migas will allow PLN to receive a portion of the LNG supply previously allocated to Sempra, but he did not specify the amount.
In March, to obtain higher prices for its LNG exported from Tangguh in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia's Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the country wanted to renegotiate LNG contract terms with South Korean buyers and was seeking to divert to Japan supplies contracted for the US West Coast.
In particular, Purnomo said Indonesia was planning to talk to Sempra, with which it had agreed to deliver 3.7 million tonnes/year of LNG from Tangguh for 20 years at $5.90/Mcf. (OGJ Online, Mar. 6, 2007). The Tangguh LNG plant is expected to become operational by fourth quarter 2008.
Recently Indonesian media quoted Purnomo as saying the government is considering the possibility of diverting as much as 50% of Sempra's LNG supply to the Asian market.
According to operator BP, the Tangguh LNG plant has already secured long-term LNG sales to four customers: the Fujian LNG project in China, SK Power Co. Ltd. in South Korea, Posco Korea, and Sempra.
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].
