Pertagas Niaga set to commercialize ?LNG for vehicle? project

By Bernard Loebs

PT Pertagas Niaga, an indirect subsidiary of state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina, has applied for a permanent business permit with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources to commercialize its ?LNG for Vehicle? project in Bontang, East Kalimantan.

Pertagas Niaga held a temporary permit during the trial phase of the project. The pilot project was run by PT Badak NGL, as the supplier of LNG and technology, while the LNG buyer was coal miner PT Indo Tambang Megaraya, which used the LNG to fuel its trucks.

Pertagas Niaga President Director Jogi Prajugio said Tuesday that aside from getting the permanent business permit, the company via Badak NGL will also build a larger loading port facility to be able to serve the entire market in East Kalimantan, which accounts for 20 percent of the national non-subsidized petroleum fuel consumption.

Coal miners are the largest group of consumer of the non-subsidized fuel in the province. If converted into LNG, the consumption volume of the non-subsidized petroleum fuel in the province is equal to more than 200 mmscfd of gas.

Pertagas expects the business permit and the construction of the cargo doc 2 facility to be completed at the end of this year, to have sales volume of 35 mmscfd in the project, and ramp up to 200 mmscfd within the next 4-5 years.

Several potential customers have expressed interest including coal mining firms ITM, Berau Coal, KPC, Tanito Harun, and Indominco, as well as smaller miners.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak