PLN, BPMIGAS, Inpex, Total conduct ?due diligence? over FSRU
Friday, March 2 2012 - 02:31 AM WIB
Executives of state electricity company PT PLN, upstream authority BPMIGAS, Inpex Corporation and Total E&P Indonesie have met with executive members of PT Nusantara Regas to discuss the latest status of the Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) West Java to be deployed on the Jakarta bay, a PLN senior official said.
The FSRU West Java, the first in Indonesia, is originally scheduled to commence operation in early April at the latest. However, the maiden operation of the FSRU is most likely to be postponed, prompting PLN which will purchase LNG from the FSRU as well as Inpex and Total as suppliers of the LNG, to conduct ?due diligence? on the FSRU status.
Head of Gas and Oil Division of PLN, M. Suryadi Mardjoeki, told Petromindo.com that he sees at least three reasons behind the delay. First, the works at Jurong shipyard which is running behind schedule. The shipyard is responsible for converting a tanker vessel, owned by Golar Energy of Norway, into FSRU. Secondly, the delay in the construction of onshore receiving facilities in Muara Karang, north Jakarta. Thirdly, the leakage of subsea pipe that will link the FSRU and the onshore pipe.
Suryadi said the reparation of the leaked pipe section is expected to be completed on April 27, 2012 and requires commissioning period of about 60 days.
?Hopefully, the gas from the FSRU West Java would flow to PLN power plant in Muara Karang in July 2012 and PLN power plant in Tanjung Priok in November 2012,? he said.
President Director of Nusantara Regas, Hendra Jaya, told Petromindo.com that the due diligence conducted by the PLN, Inpex, Total and BPMIGAS executives has been scheduled earlier and not related with the delay of the FSRU operation.
The due diligence is necessary as the FSRU project is the first in Indonesia, claimed Hendra. Nusantara Regas has also last year arranged a visit to Dubai to see Golar Freeze. The team from Inpex, Total and PLN had also visited the Jurong shipyard in Singapore.
Hendra admitted that the maiden operation of the FSRU could be delayed. Nevertheless, Nusantara Regas is still trying to ensure that the FSRU will sail from Singapore in early April and followed by commissioning for up to 60 days.
?However, based on Golar experience previously, commissioning could be done in several weeks, therefore Insya Allah (God willing), the gas will be delivered to PLN before July,? said Hendra.
The West Java FSRU project is operated by PT Nusantara Regas, a joint venture between PT Pertamina and state-owned gas distributor PT Perusahaan Gas Negara Tbk. Golar leases the FSRU for approximately 11 years to Nusantara Regas.
The FSRU is designed to deliver up to 500 million standard cubic feet per day of regasified LNG to Nusantara Regas? downstream pipeline.
Editing by Roffie Kurniawan