BP Indonesia wants Tangguh III to be named ?strategic project?

By Godang Sitompul

BP Indonesia, the operator of the Tangguh LNG plant in West Papua, has asked the government to declare the plants expansion project, better known as Tangguh III, a ?national strategic project?, a status which allows it to carry out transaction for the project in dollar rather than rupiah, a senior official of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said.

?If the project is awarded the status ?national strategic project?, under the Bank Indonesia regulation, transactions related to the project can be performed using the dollar. However, we still demand that 40 percent of the LNG from the project be allocated for the domestic market,? Director General of Oil and Gas IGN Wiratmaja told Petromindo.com

Talking about the progress of the project, Wiratmaja said BP Indonesia is now facing difficulties to find long-term buyers for the project.

?BP Indonesia is facing difficulties to find long-term buyers. PLN wants to buy on short-term basis. That is why they want the project be declared a ?national strategic project?. The government is studying the request,? he said.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon