Gov?t approves environmental impact assessment for Tangguh LNG project

State oil and gas company Pertamina and Anglo-American energy giant BP said in a joint statement Tuesday that ministry of environment had approved Terms of Reference for environmental and social studies required by the new integrated Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for Tangguh Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project in Irian Jaya

According to the statement, the occasion marks another major step forward in Indonesia?s environmental development since it was the first integrated project which EIA is being evaluated under the rigorous standards introduced by Ministry of Environment and also involving local environmental watchdog as well as local communities.

Senior Pertamina official Inoenoe, Project Manager of LNG Tangguh commented, ?Pertamina and BP are committed to the highest environmental standards for the Tangguh project, and this decision reflects our determination to make Tangguh an economic, social and environmental success. It is a great day for the Project and Indonesia?.

Richard Elliott, BP?s Senior Project Manager for Tangguh added, ?Comprehensive consultation and dialogue with all our stakeholders is fundamental to good environmental performance. We shall continue to actively engage them as we move forward with our ?model? project for Indonesia?.

The Tangguh LNG project operated by Pertamina and BP Indonesia and is located in Berau bay, Irian Jaya province. The plant will be able to produce 6 million tones of LNG per annum from two initial processing trains. The Tangguh gas fields contain 18.3 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of independently certified proved and probable natural gas reserves, with an additional 5.4 tcf of possible reserves already identified.

The statement said the project was expected to be fully operational by the year of 2005/2006. (*)