Ministry withholds permit for Senipah condensate export
Monday, October 21 2013 - 08:59 AM WIB
The Directorate General of Oil and Gas at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) has yet to issue permit for the export of government-owned condensate produced from Senipah field in East Kalimantan, causing confusion at upstream authority SKK Migas.
Earlier, SKK Migas announced that tender for the contract to export the government-owned condensate from Senipah for the period of September-October 2013 was won by Singapore-based trader Trafigura.
A source said Trafigura managed to export the condensate in September but the firm is still unable to export it this month because no permit has been issued by the Directorate General of Oil and Gas.
SKK Migas Deputy for Commercial Management Widhyawan Prawiraatmadja said the agency was confused over the situation.
?We need assurance regarding the allocation of the government-owned condensate. Is it for domestic market or not? If it is for domestic market, which companies need it and how much do they need?? Widhyawan said.
He warned that if there is no clear direction from the ministry, SKK Migas may ask the production sharing contractor (PSC) to sell the condensate in order to prevent the storage from being too full. The Senipah field is part of the Mahakam block, operated by French firm Total SA.
Early this month, the Directorate General of Oil and Gas announced that the government has decided to prioritize the sale of national condensate output to meet the local demand, particularly demand from the local petrochemical industry.
The decision was by several ministries including MEMR, the Ministry of Industry; and the Ministry of Trade.
Widhyawan noted that the local market can only 40 percent of the government-owned condensate.
Editing by Johannes Simbolon