European investor offers to build ?gas bridge?

A European investor has offered to build a ?gas bridge? to transmit natural gas to Java Island from East Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi and Papua, Bisnis Indonesia daily reported on Tuesday.

?The investor?s executives have met with us and have made presentation about their offer,? said Tunggono, marketing director of state electricity firm PLN. He said PLN had yet to report to the minister of energy and mineral resources about the offer from the European investor.

Tunggono did not mention the name of the investor.

He said PLN would be the main consumer of natural gas to be brought in through the planned ?gas bridge?.

Tunggono said transmitting natural gas through the ?gas bridge? is less costly compared with gas transmission through pipelines.

A gas bridge is a facility which changes LNG from a vessel into normal natural gas before being transmitted to power plants, Tunggono explained.

State gas transmission and distribution firm PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) has planned to build a 1.100-kilometer pipeline to channel natural gas from Bontang, East Kalimantan to East Java. The project would cost about US$1.1 billion.

A feasibility study on the gas pipeline project is underway. (*)