Pertamina rushes to complete tie-in at Arun-Belawan pipeline project

By Godang Sitompul

State-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina is rushing to complete the tie-in works at the 400 km Arun-Belawan gas pipeline as the Arun regasification plant and terminal is expected to be on stream in October of next year.

VP Engineering and Project Management at Pertamina?s Gas and Power Directorate, Daniel H. Purba told Petromindo.com Wednesday that his company has asked the contractor, PT Citra Manggal Persada, to complete this month the tie-in of the 24-inch pipes purchased from PT Bakrie & Brothers.

The 400 mmscfd-capacity gas pipeline, linking Aceh and North Sumatra, will be used to distribute gas from the Arun facility for industries and power plants in the two provinces. The two key projects should help resolve the gas shortage problem besetting industries in the two provinces. Daniel said that Pertamina has allocated capital expenditure worth US$570 million for the pipeline and Arun regasification projects.

Elsewhere, Daniel said that Pertamina is open to the option of importing LNG to meet the requirement of the Arun regasification plant. ?It depends on the government, how much of domestic (gas) production would be allocated for Arun, and the remainder to come from import,? he said, while adding that imports could come from producing countries such as the US, Australia, PNG.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak