Indonesia, Singapore launch West Natuna gas project
Tuesday, January 16 2001 - 03:30 AM WIB
President Abdurrahman Wahid and Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong jointly launched on Monday a multibillion-dollar project which delivers natural gas from the West Natuna area in the South China Sea to Singapore.
Abdurrahman, who was accompanied by a high-profile delegation comprising several ministers, came to the ceremony to launch the project in Singapore as both countries were seeking to improve ties that had been strained by the President's outburst several months ago.
Last November, Abdurrahman, also called Gus Dur, launched a sharp criticism against Singapore, calling the island-state as money-grabbing and accused the majority Chinese population of Singapore of looking down to the minority Malay population.
Analysts say that the launching of the project by both Indonesian and Singaporean leaders signals their strong commitment to keep both countries as good neighbors despite the recent strained relations.
"We have achieved something we can be proud of," Gus Dur told senior officials, business executives and reporters at Singapore's Jurong island.
Goh said during the ceremony that Singapore was still confident of Indonesia despite the current political turmoil and lingering economic crisis.
"Our participation in the project signals strongly to the international community Singapore's confidence in the fundamental prospects of Indonesia," Goh said.
The Indonesian delegation to the project launching include Coordinating Minister of Economy Rizal Ramli, Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Minister of Industry and Trade Luhut B. Pandjaitan, as well as the leaders of state oil and gas company Pertamina and producution sharing contractors who were involved in the project.
The ceremony marks the first delivery of gas supplies from the gas fields of Pertamina's contractors in West Natuna to the Jurong island through a 656-kilometers underwater pipelines.
The first gas arrived on last Jan. 3, six months ahead of schedule.
Under the contract signed by Pertamina and Singapore's SembCorp Gas in 199, Pertamina and its contractors will send 325 million cubic per day (MMCFD) of natural gas throughout the contractual period of 22 years.
The contractors are American firm Conoco Inc., Canadian firm Gulf Indonesia Resources and British firm Premier Oil, which are grouped in the so-called West Natuna Gas Consortium.
The project will reportedly give the Indonesian government about US$8 billion throughout the contract period.
Goh said that Singapore also planned to import gas from Sumatra and negotiations between Pertamina and Singapore Power's subsidiary Gas Supply Ltd. were now in progress.
"Even as we celebrate the first delivery of natural gas from West Natuna, we are already in an advanced stage of discussion for a second gas project. Singapore Power is working with Pertamina to bring natural gas from Sumatra to Singapore," Goh said.
Under the preliminary agreements signed several months ago, Pertamina will send gas from the fields belonging to Gulf in Jambi and South Sumatra and American firm Santa Fe International Corporation in Jambi for 22 years starting from 2003. The gas will be delivered through a pipeline, which will be built to link Sumatra, Batam and Singapore.
Pertamina's director of production sharing contractors Iin Arifin Takhyan told reporters during the ceremony that the final deal for the Sumatra-Singapore gas project was expected to come early next month. (Godang)