Indonesia says competition to win S. Korea LNG contract tough

Indonesia is facing tough competition to win contracts to supply LNG to South Korean steel mill POSCO and refiner SK Corp., a government official said.

?Based on the information we collected, contenders for POSCO and SK LNG supply tender are Australia?s North West Shelf Venture, Qatar?s Ras Gas, Malaysia Tiga, Brunei LNG, Oman LNG and Indonesia,? said Eddy Purwanto, a senior official at BP Migas, Indonesia?s upstream oil and gas authority in an interview Thursday. Both Indonesia?s Tangguh and Bontang LNG participated in the tender through separate bid.

Eddy admitted that competition to win the contract would be tough, especially from Ras Gas, who was widely tipped to offer heavily discounted price.

?However, I will say Indonesia?s chance to win the contract is still open as we believe we submitted attractive offers,? said Eddy. He, however, did not disclose the detail of the package. He refused to comment when asked whether Bontang and Bontang LNG were submitting their bids with price similar to Tangguh?s LNG contract to Fujian.

POSCO and SK had collectively opened tender to supply 1 million to 1.5 million tons of LNG per annum for 20 years starting 2005. Eddy said POSCO and SK are expected to pick the winner sometime in May this year. (godang)