Japan asks Arun NGL to operate 100 percent

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) consumers in Japan has asked Arun Natural Gas Liquefaction (Arun NGL) in Lhokseumawe, Aceh, to operate fully starting next month, following the shipment of Arun LNG to Japan last week, the first shipment since the closure of the plan four months ago, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Monday.

Arun NGL vice president Hasan Saad told Bisnis Indonesia over the weekend:

"The Japanese buyers have given a time frame until September for Arun refinery plant to operate normally."

With the new commitment from Japanese buyers, now Arun NGL is awaiting a response from its South Korean customers, that had told Arun it would not buy LNG from Arun for some time because it still kept a good level of LNG in its inventory.

Hasan said the shipment of LNG to Japan last week was the 25th shipment of LNG from Arun for this year.

Normally, Arun shipped 10 LNG vessels per month, making a total of 116 per annum, or equivalent with 6.5 million metric tons of LNG per annum.

Last week shipment, conducted by Wakaba Maru LNG cargo vessel, transported a total of 124,000 metric tons of LNG, worth about US$10 million, to Higashi Ohgishima of Japan.

It was the 3,461st shipment of LNG from Arun since the plant started its operation in 1978. (*)