Natural gas deal with Petronas to be sealed soon: Source

The deal to supply 100 million standard cubic feet per day (MMCFD) of natural gas from Premier?s Block A production sharing contract (PSC) area in West Natuna to The Angsi platform owned by Petronas in the Eastern part of Malysia is expected to be sealed soon, according to industry source Tuesday.

?We hope the deal can be concluded in the coming week,? said the source.

Earlier, an official from state oil and gas company Pertamina said the West Natuna gas deal was expected to last for 10 years, starting 2004.

Pertamina had also held several simultaneous talks with Petronas to supply 300 MMCFD of gas from South Sumatra which would mainly come from Corridor block, which is operated by Gulf Indonesia Resources and other gas fields in the area, including the Jambi Merang block, which is operated by the joint operating body (JOB) comprising Pertamina and Spanish-Argentinean firm Repsol-YPF, and the Bentu block operated by Australian firm Santos.

The result of Sumatra gas deal is not immediately known. (godang/alex)