Government says 63 LNG cargoes are still uncommitted

By Godang Sitompul

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said that as per end October, there are 63 LNG cargoes from the Tangguh and Bontang plants for delivery next year remain uncommitted.

Director General of Oil and Gas at the ministry IGN Wiratmaja Puja said that the government is still in negotiation with buyers for 13 of the 63 uncommitted LNG cargoes.

He said that although the volume of the uncommitted cargoes is high, the government has not yet decided to sell them in the spot market as it still hope that country?s traditional buyers in Taiwan, South Korea and Japan can absorb them.

Puja said that in 2018, there are still "more than 60" uncommitted cargoes. ?We?re still oversupplied,? he said.

But according to the ministry data, Indonesia may have to import 27 of LNG cargoes in 2019, and import is projected to jump to 90 cargoes in 2024, and to 101 cargoes in 2025 due to rising domestic demand while the gas-rich Abadi field in the Masela block is assumed to only start production in 2024, and gas output from the Tangguh LNG plant will start to decline in 2024.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak