Construction of FSRU in Arun remains uncertain
Thursday, January 3 2013 - 02:54 AM WIB
The planned construction of the Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) in Arun, Aceh, seems to continue to be gripped with uncertainty despite a government-set target that it must be constructed by end of 2013.
State-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina said that the construction of the FSRU will depend on whether there will be users for the facility. One of the prospective customers is state-owned electricity firm PLN, which plans to process LNG purchased from the Tangguh LNG plant at the Arun FSRU. PLN has signed a heads of agreement with Tangguh over the purchase of 1.5 million metric tons per annum of LNG.
Vice President for LNG project at Pertamina, Daniel Purba, said that the FSRU in Arun will not be constructed if there are no users for the facility. He said that there?s still no clear commitment from PLN to become user of the FSRU facility in Arun.
Daniel said that the company is still awaiting for certainty over the delivery date of the Tangguh LNG before it would decide on the final investment decision for the Arun FSRU project. In addition, PLN is also currently still in the process of selecting an independent accountant to determine the fair price for the Arun FSRU service.
?For the Arun (FSRU project), we?re still waiting for PLN,? Daniel told Petromindo.com on Thursday.
He explained that the construction of the FSRU project could only proceed if the materials and equipment for the facility are ready. The company has to issue a purchase order (PO) to the manufacturer to allow it to produce the necessary materials, which according to them will require about 12 months to manufacture. But even so, there is still a possibility of further delay in the shipment of the materials by the manufacturer, Daniel added.
Soeryadi Mardjoeki, Head of Fuel and Gas division at PLN, said that the ball is now in the hands of Pertamina, who had earlier promised to construct the FSRU in Arun once the company has signed the HoA over the purchase of LNG from Tangguh.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak