Pertamina told to supply gas to fertilizer firms in Aceh
Friday, August 24 2001 - 02:53 AM WIB
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said that he had told Pertamina to prioritize domestic needs of natural gas, especially in Aceh, rather than boosting exports of liquefied natural gas.
"I have instructed Pertamina to prioritize the use of natural gas from ExxonMobil for domestic needs. Natural gas allocation for PIM and AAF must be taken care of, only then we take care of exports. Moreover, foreign buyers (from South Korea) is still conducting a due diligence (in Arun)," Purnomo told Bisnis Indonesia in Jakarta on Thursday.
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Yusuf Kalla concurred and said that the government was trying to direct gas supply to PIM, as fertilizer is getting scarce among farmers in Aceh.
"We are ready to urge Pertamina and ExxonMobil to prioritize the supply of gas to big companies in the territory so that the growth of people's economic zone in the area will continue," he told ulemas, local figures and officials in Lhokseumawe.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Indonesian Fertilizers Producers Association, Suhadi, said at a meeting with Purnomo that fertilizers scarcity did not only hit Aceh, but also a number of areas in the country, and therefore it is important to supply gas to PIM and AAF.
"If the natural gas cannot be supplied to PIM and AAF, then this month we have to import a total of between 50,000 to 60,000 tons of fertilizer for the upcoming planting season," he said.
He explained that PIM and AAF had suffered a combined potential loss of US$75 million from the stoppage of its operation since March 9, 2001.
Purnomo explained that currently ExxonMobil could not meet all natural gas demand of industries in the area because the company had only operated its cluster I and II gas fields, while cluster III and IV were still under repair for full production.
Earlier, Pertamina's production sharing management director Effendi Situmorang said that Pertamina hoped that cluster III and IV would start production in September 2001.
Meanwhile, ExxonMobil Public Affairs Operation manager Julia Tumengkol told Kompas daily that the repair works in the cluster III and IV could not yet be completed soon because of its long idle condition.
When asked about the demand to supply gas to fertilizer firms, Julia said that the company would follow whatever the decision from the government. (*)