Exxon told to resume operations
Tuesday, May 29 2001 - 06:30 AM WIB
ExxonMobil Oil Indonesia Inc. must resume operations at its Arun gas field in the next few weeks in order to meet demand for liquefied natural gas in the peak demand summer season, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said on Monday.
"Buyers in South Korea and Japan need more (LNG) in the month of July because of summer season demand," Purnomo said in Singapore, referring to high LNG consumption for power generation for air conditioning. "So (during) this month and June, (it is) critical to push ExxonMobil back to production."
The Arun gas field has a normal production capacity of 1.6 billion cubic feet a day of natural gas and 30,000 b/d of condensate, which is liquefied by PT Arun NGL before being shipped to South Korean and Japanese buyers.
Purnomo was quoted by Dow Jones Newswires as saying that Pertamina and the Indonesian government are in discussions with ExxonMobil Oil Indonesia about restarting natural gas pumping in Arun.
ExxonMobil Oil Indonesia, a unit of Exxon Mobil Corp., halted natural gas pumping in Arun in March this year due to security concerns in restive Aceh province. Purnomo said it would take about one month to prepare the facilities before Arun LNG output is at normal levels. (*)