Medco ready to supply gas to support city gas program
Tuesday, January 31 2012 - 09:39 AM WIB
PT Medco E&P Indonesia, a subsidiary of listed oil and gas company PT Medco Energi Internasional Tbk said that it is ready to supply as much as 0.15 billion british thermal unit per day (bbtud) for Palembang town from its South Sumatera Ext Block (SSE) and 0.06-0.08 bbtud from Tarakan Block for Tarakan town in East Kalimantan, in the year 2012.
The national city gas network program for households, known as Jargas, was launched by the government in 2008. The program is part of the government?s energy diversification program, which is aimed at accelerating the shift of kerosene to natural gas which is a cheaper, cleaner and safer source of energy for households.
?We are ready to supply gas to support the government in implementing the city gas network program in a number of cities in the country,? Joang Laksanto, Spokesperson of PT Medco E & P told Petromindo.com.
Joang said Medco will sell the gas to municipality government of Palembang and Tarakan. The gas will then be distributed to households through city gas pipeline network.
?The gas will be available for the period of 2012-2013 for Palembang town, while for Tarakan it will be contracted for a period of 2011 to 2016,? he said.
Separately, Evita H. Legowo, Director General for Oil and Gas at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, said the use of natural gas in the program is aimed at providing cheaper energy for cities as compared to using more expensive liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
Evita said in the first stage, the city gas pipeline network will be available in few cities, namely Tarakan, Bekasi and Depok in West Java, Sidoarjo in East Java and Palembang in South Sumatera. The towns are close to gas producing areas.
Apart from Medco, the government also has secured gas supply commitment from PT Pertamina E&P to support the program.
Editing by Roffie Kurniawan