BPMIGAS: LNG plants are also part of the government?s assets

BPMIGAS, the government?s agency responsible for the supervision of oil and gas exploration and production activities, said that all the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plants in the country are part of the government?s assets in the oil and gas sector.

Like other oil and gas assets such as gas and oil pipelines and oil rigs, the LNG plants are under the direct control of BPMIGAS. ?This is the task of BPMIGAS which is stated in the law,? the chairman of BPMIGAS Rachmat Sudibjo was quoted as saying by Koran Tempo daily.

According to Rachmat, the value of the oil and gas related assets including LNG plants, more than 400 oil rigs and thousands of kilometers of oil and gas pipelines reaches about Rp 200 trillion (US$=Rp8,200). The facilities were built by oil and gas production contractors under a cost recovery program.

He, however, said that the control of the LNG plants could be transferred to the government?s oil and gas regulatory body which overseas downstream oil and gas activities. ?If there is a break in the chain and there is a gas transaction, the control could be transferred to the regulatory body,? he said. But the newspaper did not elaborate. (*)