Medco in talks to sell Aceh gas to Pertamina

By Godang Sitompul

IDX-listed energy firm PT Medco Energi Internasional Tbk is now in talks to sell gas from Aceh Block A gas block with PT Pertamina Gas (Pertagas) after previous effort to sell the gas to fertilizer firm PT Pupuk Iskandar Muda (PIM) collapsed.

Medco CEO Lukman Mahfoedz told Petromindo.Com on Monday that he expected negotiation will be concluded in 1-2 weeks.

Under the new deal, Medco will sell gas from Block A to Pertagas? subsidiary PT Pertagas Niaga, which in turn will transmit the gas through Arun-Belawan pipeline currently under construction.

?If PIM still want to buy the gas, it can buy from Pertagas and the remaining volume will be distributed to industrial user along the pipeline,? SKKMigas Commercialization Deputy Widyawan Prawiraratmadja told Petromindo.Com.

Pertamina is in the process of turning Arun LNG plant into LNG receiving terminal and constructing pipeline that will bring the gas from Arun to indunstrial city of Belawan in North Sumatra.

It is not immediately clear why talks with PIM collapsed.

Editing by Alexander Ginting