N. Jakarta power plant faces gas shortage
Monday, May 20 2002 - 09:35 AM WIB
Accordingly, plant owner PT Indonesia Power (IP) which is a subsidiary of state electricity company PT PLN has been forced to spend extra amounts to buy diesel fuel for the plant, the newspaper quoted as saying an executive of IP who asked for anonymity.
The plant now requires 6000 kiloliters of diesel fuel per day, the IP executive said.
A senior executive at the production sharing management directorate of state oil and gas firm Pertamina, Sidick Nitikusumah, said on Monday they had sent a letter to BP asking it to soon increase to normal level gas supply for the North Jakarta plant.
Meanwhile, BP Indonesia?s vice president Satya W. Yudha admitted gas supply shortage at the North Jakarta power plant. He said the supply drop had been due to technical troubles at Arjuna field facility.
?The supply shortage was not due to gas reserve depletion in the Arjuna field. It was not like what had happened in East Java,? Satya said.
Gas supply in East Java has continued to drop lately due to a decline in the gas production from BP?s Pegerungan field in the Kangean block in the province.
BP, which has obtained exclusive rights to produce and distribute gas in East Java has seen its gas reserve depleting much earlier than it had expected. (*)