Badak NGL expects LNG shipment shortage in 2005: Report

Indonesian liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer PT Badak NGL Co. expects a shortage of 25 cargoes of gas shipments to Asian buyers in 2005, an official with the company said Tuesday.

The official told Dow Jones Newswires that the company, which operates the Bontang LNG plants in East Kalimantan, will be able to ship only 340 cargoes to buyers in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan this year, falling short of its commitment to deliver 365 cargoes.

The Bontang LNG plants can produce 380 LNG cargoes each year. However, an ongoing problem related to natural gas production from one of the nearby gas fields, which feeds gas to the plants, has caused a drop in LNG output.

Last year, Indonesia for the first time ever had to buy LNG from Middle Eastern producers to meet its commitments to buyers, due to its dwindling natural gas production.

This has tainted Indonesia's reputation as the world's largest LNG exporter, and could hurt its chances of obtaining LNG supply contracts in the future, analysts said. (*)