Arun-Belawan pipeline project 70% complete

By Febry Silaban

The giant gas pipeline project linking two provinces, Nangroe Aceh Darussalam and North Sumatra, has been running smoothly, with 70 percent of the works having been completed, PT Pertamina Gas (Pertagas), a subsidiary of state owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina (Persero), the owner of the project, said on Thursday.

Wianda Arindita Pusponegoro, Corporate Secretary of Pertagas, told Petromindo.com that the project is projected to be commissioned in the fourth quarter of this year as scheduled.

?Meanwhile, we now are still finalizing negotiation on the Gas Transportation Agreement (GTA) with PLN (PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara, state owned electricity firm),? she said.

The 350-km pipeline project which has a capacity of 400 mmscfd aims to channel gas from the Arun LNG plant in Aceh to among others PLTGU Belawan combined cycle power plant in North Sumatra owned by PLN, past industrial estates in North Sumatra. The gas will be supplied by the Tangguh LNG plant in West Papua in the form of LNG. The LNG will be regassified at Arun before being transported via pipeline to PLTGU Belawan. PLN will pay Tangguh for the LNG and Pertamina for transportation of the gas.

Two other gas buyers in North Sumatra are the Medan Industrial Park (KIM) and the Sei Mengkei Special Economic Zone (KEK) with which Pertagas has signed sales and purchasing agreements on a combined supply of 200 mmscfd.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon