Pertamina to takeover role in selling LNG

Upstream authority SKK Migas will transfer the role of selling the state?s portion of the country?s LNG output to state-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina, said Widhyawan Prawiraatmadja, Deputy for Commercialization Control at SKK Migas.

Widhyawan said Monday that Pertamina will handle LNG output which has not been contracted such as production from the Abadi field in the Masela block. This means that existing contracts such as the role of BP Berau Ltd in selling LNG from the Tangguh LNG project in West Papua remains valid, he added.

The state via the government gets 65 percent of gas output operated by production sharing contractors. The gas is then processed into LNG to be exported to foreign buyers.

Under the current system, SKK Migas handles the selling of the state?s portion of the country?s gas output by assigning gas traders.

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Jero Wacik has also recently assigned Pertamina to takeover from SKK Migas in handling the selling of crude oil and condensate belonging to the state. The move came following the high profile bribery scandal involving the now suspended chairman of SKK Migas, Rudi Rubiandini. (*)