Arcandra: Gas import not yet required until 2019

The government assured that there will be no need for the country to import gas until 2019, despite growing domestic demand, due to plenty of uncommitted LNG cargoes over the next two years.

This was reiterated by Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arcandra Tahar on Wednesday. ?We have seen uncommitted LNG cargoes since 2017. Until 2019, we?ll still have uncommitted cargoes. The government estimates that until 2019, we don?t need gas import,? he said in a statement issued by the ministry.

Arcandra said that this year alone, there is an estimated 40 uncommitted LNG cargoes, although these cargoes have finally found buyers. He said that the number of uncommitted LNG cargoes for next year is still being estimated.

According to the ministry, domestic gas demand between 2003 and 2016 has been growing at a rate of 9.3 percent per year.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak