PGN wants gas supply back from Chevron

State owned gas distributor PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) has asked the government to redivert gas supply of about 100 million standard cubic feet (mmscfd) currently delivered to PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia (CPI) to enable it to cope with gas shortage experienced by state electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), Kontan reported on Friday.

PGN president director Hendi P. Santoso said on Wednesday since February last year, the government decided to divert the 100 mmscfd gas allocated to the state gas distributor to CPI to help CPI increase its oil production.

The reallocation of gas to CPI had forced PGN to reduce gas supply to PLN, he said.

If the government agreed to redivert the gas supply to PGN, it would be able to help cope with PLN?s gas shortage, he said, adding that if the 100 mmscfd of gas supply could be given to PLN, the state electricity company would be able to reduce the use of petroleum-based fuel by about 727,000 kiloliters a year, thereby reducing the government?s fuel subsidy by about Rp 5.5 trillion.

Upstream oil and gas regulator BPMigas said recently that it planned to allocate another 85 mmscfd of gas Jambi Merang field to Chevron. If the agency could realize its plan to provide more gas supply to the oil company, it would be no problem for the agency to return the 100 mmscfd gas allocation, Hendi said. (*)