Indonesia mulls importing gas from Papua New Guinea

Indonesia is mulling importing gas from Papua New Guinea (PNG) for fertilizer production in Papua province and talks between the governments of both countries are now in progress, the Directorate General of Oil and Gas said in a statement on Monday.

The import plan comes in line with the government?s plan to develop agricultural sector in Papua?s Merauke regency, situated in the Indonesian border with PNG.

Director General of Oil and Gas IGN Wiratmaja said in Bali over the weekend that the Indonesian Gas Balance indicates that the Indonesian government has to import gas starting in 2019. Meanwhile, PNG has relatively huge gas reserve. That?s the reason the government plans to import gas from the neighboring country as feedstock for fertilizer plant.

?We have a program to develop a vast agricultural estate in Merauke. We shall build a fertilizer plant in the area and import gas for the fertilizer plant from PNG,? he said.

Both countries are now in talks about the amount of gas needed by Indonesia and the amount that can be provided by PNG. The agricultural estate is planned to be built in the areas bordering PNG, while the gas field is situated in the Indonesian-PGN borders. The gas will thus be delivered through pipelines.

Wiratmaja said the fertilizer plant?s gas need is estimated at 150 mmscfd.

Aside from the gas import, Indonesia and PNG plan to cooperate in studying potential joint exploration in the border areas and sharing technologies and resources of LNG and refinery. ?We have an education center for LNG in Bontang (East Kalimantan). Our friends in PNG can study in Bontang, Cepu etc,? Wiratmaja said.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon