Gas supply from BP?s Pagerungan field down on pipeline damage

Natural gas supply from BP-operated Pagerungan gas field offshore East Java to East Java is down from 180 standard cubic feet per day (MMCFD) to 100 MMCFD after the operator shut down five gas wells on Tuesday due to trouble in the pipeline.

?Corrosion is detected in some part of the pipelines. Therefore we decide to shut down the wells and making necessary repairing,? said Trijana Kartoatmodjo, a senior official at BP Migas, Indonesia?s upstream oil and gas authority.

Trijana expected the repair will be completed by January 25 and by then supply could be broght back to 180 MMCFD level.

He said gas supply to state electricity firm had been reduced from 80 MMCFD to 60 MMCFD, while supply to state gas distribution firm PGN and to state fertilizer firm Petrokimia Gresik were reduced from 50 MMCFD each to 25 MMCFD and 15 MMCFD, respectively.

BP?s Pagerungan field is the main gas supplier to East Java. (alex/godang/arry)