North Sumatra facing gas crisis
Friday, February 22 2013 - 02:15 AM WIB
State gas distributor PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) SBU Distribution III General Manager Mugiono told the public discussion in Medan on Thursday that gas supply from PT Pertiwi Nusantara Resources, one of its gas suppliers in Medan, will run out on 1st March 2013.
?When the gas supply from Pertiwi runs out then total gas supply distributed by PGN in the province will drop from 12 MMSCFD to 7 MMSCFD, while the need of about 20,000 customers of PGN in Medan is at 25 MMSCFD,? said Mugiono.
He said that with its 600 kilometer pipeline in the province, the supply of only 7 MMSCFD is too low. ?We understand the condition facing our customers. But this is a fact we?re all facing in the province,? he said.
?This is a serious gas crisis for industries in Medan. We from Kadin urges the government and other stakeholders to quickly solve this gas problem,? said Tohar Suhartono, deputy chairman of North Sumatra?s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN), who also addressed the seminar on Thursday.
The public discussion was organized on Thursday by Tempo Group with an aim of seeking a quick solution to the looming gas supply crisis in North Sumatra.
The public discussion was also attended by Rinaldy Dalimi of the National Energy Council (DEN), noted economist Faisal Basri, North Sumatra Gas Users Association Chairman Johan Brien, and Pertamina?s Upstream Strategic Planning & Operation Evaluation Senior Vice President Djohardi Angga Kusuma.
Actually, the gas crisis in Medan has been predicted since the last few years. To anticipate the problem, in 2011 PGN had planned to build the Floating Storage Regatification Unit (FSRU) in Belawan with a capacity of 250 mmbtu.
But later the government decided to move the development plan to Lampung as state oil and gas PT Pertamina has planned to build gas pipeline linking Belawan and Arun, which is planned to replace the FSRU Belawan.
Djohardi of Pertamina said that next month his company will start the development of 375 kilometer pipeline from Arun to Belawan to channel gas from the regasification unit in Arun to North Sumatera.
"In July this year we will raise the gas supply in Medan by between 8 and 10 MMSCFD from Benggala Satu field," he said.
The public discussion concluded that the gas problem in North Sumatra has shown that a synergy of those in charge of gas supply, infrastructure, and market is a must so that the gas production can be managed well for the benefit of all Indonesians.
?We have enough gas production to meet our need. But the management of gas in Indonesia is not integrated. Seemingly, gas players just do it according to their own need without a synergy with the others. I think we badly need a synergy and coordination among all stakeholders from the upstream, midstream and downstream,? said Rinaldy.
Editing by Benget Besalicto Tnb.