Pertamina eyeing Taiwan's LNG contract
Monday, December 4 2000 - 02:00 AM WIB
State oil and gas company Pertamina is eyeing a contract with Taiwan to supply the country with around 1.5 million to 3 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per annum.
Pertamina president Baihaki Hakim said that although Taiwan in the first stage had chosen a Qatar LNG supplier, Pertamina still saw an opportunity to enter into an agreement with Taiwan to supply LNG.
"The Taiwanese government wants at least two players to handle the project," he said recently.
He explained that the LNG that Taiwan was procuring was to supply Tatan Power Plant in Northern Taiwan, currently developed by Taipower.
One of the companies that had tendered for the project was Tung-Ting Gas, and this company had issued tender document for LNG suppliers.
Nevertheless, Baihaki said that Pertamina was facing tough competition from LNG suppliers in Malaysia and Australia, both of them had been ready with all the infrastructure, including LNG plants.
They even planned to form a consortium of investors and were ready to build an LNG receiving terminal in Northern Taiwan.
Meanwhile, Pertamina was still building LNG plants in Tangguh, Irian Jaya, to supply LNG to Taiwan. The Tangguh plants would be ready by 2003 and 2004. But Pertamina was ready to supply LNG at the designated time, at least it had Bontang LNG plants that could also supply LNG to Taiwan.
Looking at the tough competition from other LNG producers, Baihaki said, Pertamina would offer a very competitive LNG prices for Taiwan.
Baihaki noted that Pertamina was capable to supply up to 3 million tons of LNG per annum to Taiwan, as the Tangguh plant alone - with Beyond Petroleum as its foreign operator -- would produce around 3 million tons of LNG per annum for its initial production period.
Earlier, India's state oil and gas firm Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has expressed its commitment to buying LNG from Tangguh. IOC chairman Muhammed Asad Pathan said that IOC had formed a consortium and conducted talks with Pertamina over the planned purchase of Tangguh LNG. (*)