Govt to build gas pipes to 89,000 houses this year

The government will build gas pipes to a total of 89,000 houses this year as part of the expansion of city gas networks in six cities, the Directorate General of Oil and Gas said in a statement on Tuesday.

The six cities are Tarakan, Surabaya, Balikpapan, Cilegon, Batam and Prabumulih. The largest project will be developed in Prabumulih with a total cost of Rp 493 billion.

Next year, the government will build gas pipes to 200,000 houses, Director General of Oil and Gas IGN Wiratmaja said during ?Petrogas Days Energizing Indonesia Forum 2016? in Jakarta on Monday.

The development of city gas networks aims to provide the public with clean and cheap energy and encourage the public to switch to gas from LPG and thus reduce the country?s LPG imports. ?We still have a lot of gas reserves,? he said.

Wiratmaja noted that LPG consumption grows by 13 percent each year. Indonesian LPG production now reaches 2.27 million tons, while consumption stands at 6.57 million tons per year, a huge deficit which forces Indonesia huge amount of LPG each year.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon