Pertamina sees no problem on S. Korea LNG transfer: Report

Indonesia's state oil company Pertamina said on Friday it has no problem with South Korean plans to transfer liquefied natural gas (LNG) import contracts, Reuters reported on Saturday.

South Korea is seeking agreement from its major suppliers on LNG import contract transfers ahead of planned privatisation of state-run Korea Gas Corp (KOGAS).

"I don't think it is a problem as long as they (South Korea) fulfill their contracts that they already made," a Pertamina official told Reuters.

"I don't think there will be a problem of which company to accept the LNG in South Korea. For Pertamina the main thing is the LNG will be delivered according to the contracts," he said.

South Korea plans to spin off Korea Gas's wholesale and import division into three entities, two of which will be put up for sale this year, but the plan still requires parliamentary approval of a revised law.

South Korea's Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy will send a joint team including officials from related ministries and Korea Gas to Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei between February 18 and March 23 to discuss the issue.

A 21-year contract for 2.3 million tonnes of LNG with Indonesia ends in 2007 and Korea Gas has two more long-term contracts with the largest term supplier -- a two-million-tonne supply contract between 1994 and 2014 and a one-million-tonne contract to 2017 from 1998.

Indonesia is the biggest LNG exporter in the world with more than 23 million tonnes a year, mainly to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. (*)