Indonesian delegation to visit China on Sunday for LNG supply talks

An Indonesian delegation will leave for China on Sunday to confirm China?s offer to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Indonesia under a long-term contract, a senior official of state oil and gas firm Pertamina told Petromindo.Com on Saturday.

Trijana Tartoatmodjo, a senior member of Pertamina?s expert staff, said the four-member delegation would comprise three Pertamina officials and one representative of BP Indonesia. Trijana will be one of them, but he declined to mention the names of the other three people.

?We will express our gratitude to the Chinese government. We will also try make sure whether their offer matches our LNG project, and whether China really needs 2.5 million metric tons annually,? Trijana said.

The Chinese government recently awarded Indonesia a contract to supply 2.5 million metric tons of LNG per year over a 20-year period to Fujian province in southern China. China?s move followed Indonesia?s failure to win a hotly contested deal to supply LNG to Guangdong province, also in southern China. An Australian consortium led by Woodside Petroleum Ltd. won the contract to supply some 3 million metric tons of LNG per year over a 20-year period.

LNG for Fujian will come from BP Indonesia?s Tangguh project in Papua province. (godang)