Korea resumes normal LNG import via Indonesia Arun field: Report

Korea Gas Corp (Kogas) has resumed normal imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Indonesia?s Arun gas field after months of disruption due to security concerns caused by civil unrest, Dow Jones Newswires reported on Wednesday.

?The facilities are restored at Arun and?production is normalized,? a Kogas official was quoted by the wired as saying.

ExxonMobil Indonesia, a unit of Exxon Mobil Corp resumed some of its natural gas operations in mid-July after a four-month shutdown due to security concerns in the restive Aceh province. The company is the sole natural gas operator at Arun.

South Korea partially resumed LNG imports from Arun in September, taking only two cargoes compared with its normal monthly volume of three to four cargoes. During the Arun disruption, South Korea sought additional LNG suppliers from Brunei and Malaysia to meet domestic demand.

Kogas resumed normal imports from Arun in October, importing four 56,000-metric-ton cargoes of LNG. Three cargoes have been imported in November, the official said.

In December, Kogas plans to import about five cargoes from Arun due to increased use of LNG during the cold weather season, the official added. In 2002, Kogas expects to import its normal annual LNG volume from Arun, the official said.

South Korea has a long-term contract with Indonesia ? its largest LNG supplier ? to import annually 2.3 million tons of LNG from Arun, 1 million tons from Bontang and 2 million tons from either Arun or Bontang.

South Korea also has long-term LNG contracts with Malaysia, Qatar, Oman and Brunei to import a total of 11.56 million tons each year. (*)