Govt may allow exports of Donggi-Senoro LNG

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Darwin Z. Saleh suggested that the government may allow LNG from the planned Donggi Senoro LNG plant in Central Sulawesi be exported.

This contravened the previous administration?s commitment of prioritizing the gas for domestic consumption.

In a hearing with the House of Representatives (DPR), Darwin said that the Donggi Senoro LNG project was only feasible if the gas was exported and exporting the LNG was possible as long as the demands from domestic consumption can be fulfilled.

He acknowledged that exporting the LNG was contrary to the previous commitment of prioritize the domestic market for the use of the gas, but, he said, all parties should consider business momentum overseas.

A number of local companies including state owned firms PGN, PLN, Pusri and PT Panca Amara Utama have expressed interest to buy LNG from the proposed LNG project, but no firm commitment has been made. They said that the price offered by Pertamina and its partners for the Senoro LNG was too high.

Pertamina and Medco plan to build the LNG plant in cooperation with Japanese company Mitsubishi. Gas for the proposed plant will be supplied from Matindok-Donggi block, which is operated by Pertamina, and Senoro-Toili block, which is jointly operated by Pertamina and Medco.

The consortium initially planned to sell the LNG to Japanese buyers but former Vice President Yusuf Kalla decided that the gas from Matindok and Senoro-Tolli fields should be sold on the domestic market. (godang)