Mitsubishi, Itochu offer cooperation to build LPG terminal in Banten

Mitsubishi Corp. and Itochu Corp. have offered cooperation with state oil and gas firm Pertamina to build a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage in Merak, Banten but the Indonesian company has turned down the offer, Suara Pembaruan daily reported on Thursday.

?We are not yet interested in such cooperation because we have considered developing the project by ourselves,? the newspaper quoted as saying Pertamina?s downstream director Muchsin Bahar.

Meanwhile, industry sources told Suara Pembaruan several U.S. companies had also expressed their intention to cooperate with Pertamina in constructing LPG terminals.

In another development, reports said Itochu had this month signed a basic accord with Pertamina and three U.S. firms to form a joint venture company to produce LPG using gas from southern Sumatra.

The U.S. firms were Devon Energy Corp., Amerada Hess Corp. and Herr-McGee Corp. (*)