Mitsui Lines selected to transport LNG to FSRU West Java
Tuesday, December 20 2011 - 04:48 PM WIB
The company said in a statement that the project marks Indonesia's first domestic transport of LNG. It will ship up to 3 million tons of LNG from Bontang LNG plant and other Indonesian ports.
It is also Mitsui O.S.K Lines? first offshore business in Indonesia.
Mitsui Lines established a joint venture with Indonesian ocean shipping company PT Trada Maritime Tbk which owns and operates the LNG carrier Aquarius.
In the joint venture firm, Trada Maritime owns 51 percent stake and Mitsui Lines holds the remaining 49 percent.
Operation is scheduled to start in late January 2012, and the transport contract runs through the end of 2022.
Coastal transport of LNG is a new business model for Indonesia, where domestic demand for natural gas is increasing.
"Mitsui Lines takes a proactive stance in providing LNG transport services that precisely meet customer needs," it said.
LNG for Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) transported from the production site by an LNG carrier is discharged offshore at the FSRU facility near the point of consumption. The FSRU then returns the LNG to its gaseous form for distribution by pipelines to gas-powered utilities and other consumers.
PT Nusantara Regas is owned 60 percent by national oil and gas company PT Pertamina and 40 percent by national gas company PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (Persero) Tbk.
The vessel to be used to transport the LNG is 285 meters in length, 43 meters breath, 10.9 meters draft and has a capacity of 126,300 meter cubic (5 MOSS-type spherical tanks). The vessel was built in 1977. (romel/roffie)