BP to shut down Tangguh to solve technical problems

Upstream oil, gas authority BPMIGAS said BP-operated Tangguh LNG plant will be shut down in August to resolve problems since its start-up earlier this year.

?The shut down is to solve technical problems found during the first months of operations. That?s normal for new plant. We hope the plant could resume operations in two weeks,? BPMIGAS chairman R. Priyono said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, BPMIGAS Deputy Chairman Eddy Purwanto said the shut down on the first train is necessary to carry out detailed inspection.

Tangguh will have capacity of 7.6 MTPA when both of the trains operate in full capacity. The plant started shipment of two cargoes of LNG to South Korea and Chinese buyers last month.

The plant has long-term contracts to supply LNG to SK and Posco in South Korea, CNOOC in Fujian, China and Sempra in North America. (godang)