Payment for Indonesia?s LNG exports delayed

Part of the payment for the sales of Indonesia?s liquefied natural gas (LNG) have been delayed due the loss o the document on LNG export contracts during the attack of the World Trade Center in New York several days ago, Pertamina?s president Baihaki Hakim has said.

Baihaki said that the oil and gas company?s LNG exports contract and the documents on trustee borrowing scheme, which were kept at one of the hall in the WTC building, were also destroyed.

He, however, said that the delay would not really cause a problem because the companies which produce gas under production sharing contracts (PSC) with Pertamina had the back-up copy of the documents.

?We are lucky, they still keep the back-up copy of the document,? he said following a meeting with Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro.

According to Baihaki, the document of trustees which were destroyed during the attack of the WTC building included records on the sales of gas from ExxonMobil Oil Indonesia Inc, Vico Indonesia and TotalFinaElf Indonesia and their borrowing scheme with Merril Lynch.

He said that it was lucky that Merril Lynch, which was reported to have used 50 floors of the two towers of the WTC, also cooperated with other finance companies such as Bank of America in the trustee arrangement. ?The document, which is held by the bank, is safe,? he added.

Indonesia?s LNG exports reached about US$6.7 billion last year. This year, the foreign exchange receipts from the LNG exports will be about the same with last year?s level. (*)