50 percent of Masela gas for domestic market: Minister

The government has decided to allocate 50 percent of the gas to be produced from Masela PSC Timor Sea operated by Japanese firm Inpex Corporation for the domestic market, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said on Tuesday.

?Although we are still waiting for the PoD (Plan of Development) for the block, we understand that there are a lot of markets for the Masela gas. We shall prioritize a half (of the block?s gas output) for the domestic market, the other half for exports,? Purnomo told Petromindo.Com.

Gas reserves at Masela are estimated at around 4-7 TCF, which could warrant for development of an LNG plant. Report from Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai in October 2006 said that Inpex will invest US$4 billion to develop an LNG plant in Masela, capable of producing 3 MTPA of LNG, with production to seen to begin in 2015. (Godang)