Pertamina faces difficulty to obtain LNG from Oman

State-owned oil and gas company Pertamina is facing difficulties import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Oman as a larger part of the country's LNG production would be used to meet its export commitment.

"We have not been able yet to negotiate our intention with Oman," Pertamina's president director Ari Soemarno said Monday, adding that he hoped the negotiation could be held as soon as possible because Japan was getting impatient to know if Indonesia was able to meet its LNG export commitment to the country.

Indonesia is seeking to buy LNG from other LNG producing countries to meet its export commitment. Such efforts have however often failed because most of the world LNG production has been tied with long-term purchase contracts.

Due to the shortage of production, Indonesia will not be able to meet its export commitment to its main buyers Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. This year alone, Pertamina will be in shortage of 79 cargoes to meet its export commitment to these countries.

Indonesia is the world's largest LNG producer with total export reaching 30 million tons a year. However, the country's dominance is waning due to the decline in the supply of natural gas for the LNG production. (Godang)