Kogas to reduce LNG imports from Indonesia

Korea Gas Corp. (Kogas), one of the buyers of Indonesian liquefied natural gas (LNG) in South Korea, will reduce its LNG import commitment from state owned oil and gas company Pertamina by one cargo this year.

Pertamina's Vice President Mustiko Saleh confirmed the reduction in the Korean company's import commitment on Friday. The cut in the LNG import would reduce the export commitment of Aceh-based LNG producer Arun NGL to 74 cargoes this year from 75 cargoes, he said.

"The cut in Kogas's LNG import bring good news to state owned fertilizer company PT Pupuk Iskandar Muda (PT PIM) which is struggling to find additional gas to support its operation," he added.

Pertamina's director for marketing Arie Sumarno said earlier this week that the state owned oil and gas company was negotiating the purchase of the two cargoes of LNG from Nigeria to meet PT Arun's export commitment.

PT Arun has not been able to meet its export commitment after ExxonMobil, the only gas producer in Aceh, diverted part of its gas production to PT PIM on the request of the government. As part of the deal, the government agreed to meet PT Arun's export commitment. (godang/dino)