Donggi-Senoro LNG asks for governor?s help mediating land acquisition

PT Donggi-Senoro LNG (DSLNG) has requested help from the provincial administration to arbitrate a stalled land purchasing process for its LNG plant project in Banggai regency, Central Sulawesi, The Jakarta Post reported on Saturday.

?We have sent a letter to the governor and regent on March 16. We are requesting their assistance, as landowners have demanded unreasonable prices for the purchase of their land,? DSLNG general affairs manager Julian Sudarmonegoro was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

He said his company had turned to the administration for help because negotiations between the company and landowners had reached a deadlock. He expressed hope Governor HB Paliudju and Banggai Regent Ma?mun Amir would mediate the land acquisition process to ensure the project would run smoothly.

Julian said the construction of the fourth LNG plant in Indonesia would be delayed because 3 percent of the 350 hectares of land required by the company in Uso village, Batui district, Banggai, had not been secured.

He added around 17 landowners had asked for prices the company deemed too high. The landowners quoted between Rp 2 billion and Rp 5 billion for a hectare of land.

DSLNG rejected the price, offering to pay Rp 90 million per hectare of land located more than 100 meters off the Trans Sulawesi highway, and Rp 125 million per hectare of land along the highway.

DSLNG is 51 percent owned by Japanese firm Mitsubishi Corp. Pertamina owns 29 percent stake in the LNG plant and PT Medco Energi Internasional 20 percent.

The partnership plans to build a 2-MTPA LNG plant. Gas for the proposed plant will be supplied from Matindok Block, which is operated by Pertamina, and Senoro-Toili Block, which is jointly operated by Pertamina and Medco. The LNG plant would be built by Mitsubishi and Pertamina and Medco will sell gas to the LNG plant at well head.

DSLNG will sell its LNG production to Japanese firms Chubu Electric and Kansai Electric Power. (*)