Australian firm to develop mini LNG plant at Senoro gas field

Australian company Liquefied Natural Gas Limited said Wednesday that it had signed an Exclusivity Agreement (EA) with the owners of Senoro gas field in Central Sulawesi, PT Pertamina (Persero) and PT Medco E&P Tomori Sulawesi, which provides the exclusive right to 800 billion cubic feet of gas from the field.

LNG Limited said in a statement that the parties were intended to negotiate a 20 year Gas Supply Agreement for the supply of 120 million cubic feet of gas per day to LNG Limited.

Subject to the negotiation of the Gas Supply Agreement the gas would be used as feedstock for its proposed development of a 700,000 tons per year LNG production plant, which will be built on the coast near the town of Luwuk and the onshore Senoro gas field, LNG Limited said.

The Senoro gas field?s reserves were certified by international independent consultants Gaffney, Cline and Associates in January 2003.

LNG Limited also said it was in advanced negotiations with several interested LNG customers and expects the full production capacity of the proposed LNG plant to be sold to four customers, in four different countries, in the Asian and Indian Sub-Continent regions.

According to the statement, LNG Limited, jointly with Indonesian group PT Maleo Energi Utama, is in the process of establishing the joint venture Indonesian company, PT LNG Energi Utama, which will undertake the LNG plant development and fund the US$160 million capital cost of the project.

A side from Indonesia, LNG Limited has planned to develop LNG plants at Mtwara Port in Tanzania. The company has targeted to sale about 1,825,000 tons per annum (5,000 tons per day) by June 30, 2005 in order to enable the company to commence construction of the LNG plant. (Robert)