Gas supply for East Java will be normal in January: Pertamina

State-owned oil and gas company Pertamina will soon build a new gas pipeline near Lapindo Brantas' exploration well in Porong, Sidoarjo to ensure sufficient gas supply for the company's industrial customers in East Java.

"The new pipeline will be built over the emergency mud pounds near Lapindo's well in Porong. Hopefully, the construction of the pipeline will be completed before the end of this month so that the gas supply will be normal again in January," Harjana Kodiyat, Pertamina's general manager for gas production was quoted as saying by Kompas on Friday.

According to Kodyat, the construction of the new pipeline which will cost around Rp37 billion is Pertamina's middle-term project, which is temporary in nature. As for its long-term pipeline construction project, it will take around 10 months to complete and will cost around Rp50 billion.

Pertamina is hoping that Lapindo would be able to bear the cost for the construction of the new pipeline.

Pertamina's industrial customers in East Java including state-owned gas distribution company PGN, PLN?s subsidiary PT Pembangkit Java and Bali and state-owned fertilizer producer PT Petrokimia Gresik have lost almost half of their gas supply following an explosion of Pertamina's pipeline near Lapindo's exploration well location.

Part of Pertamina's pipeline buried under the mud exploded due to high pressure from the hot mud recently. The pipeline has resumed the gas supply but it is able only to transmit between 60 million and 70 million standard cubic of gas, or about half of its normal capacity of about 150 million standard cubic per day.

The mud disaster started at the end of May when one of Lapindo's exploration wells leaked, blowing out great amount of hot mud, which then flooded hundreds of hectares of farming areas and many residential areas near the company's exploration well. (*)