Antam appoints PGN unit to supply gas for power plant

By Ruli Setiawan

IDX-listed mining firm PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (Antam) said Wednesday it has appointed PT PGN LNG Indonesia, a subsidiary of IDX-listed gas distribution firm PT Perusahaan Gas Negara Tbk (PGN), to supply gas for power plant at its ferronickel plant in Pomalaa, Southeast Sulawesi.

The company said in a statement that the selection of PT PGN LNG Indonesia was conducted through a tender process in accordance with prevailing regulations.

Antam?s President Director, Tedy Badrujaman said: ?The use of gas will further lower the ferronickel production cost. As a result Antam will be more competitive and is expected to generate higher returns from the nickel business.?

Antam currently operates an 8x17MW dual fired power plant. Presently the plant run on fuel oil and can be converted to run on natural gas. Antam is currently retrofitting the necessary equipment at the plant for the use of gas. The switch to gas is expected to lower ferronickel production cost by approximately US$1 per lb Ni, the company said.

Antam is also finalizing the completion of a 2x30MW coal fired power plant to supply the auxiliary facilities of the Pomalaa ferronickel plant. The development of the coal fired plant is part of Antam?s Pomalaa Ferronickel Plant Expansion Project, which is expected to increase the annual ferronickel production capacity from 18,000-20,000 tons of nickel contained in ferronickel (TNi) to 27,000-30,000 TNi. Antam said it expects the development of the coal fired power plant to complete at the end of 2015.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak