PLN may get additional gas supplies for repowering projects

State-owned electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) is talking with state-owned gas distribution company PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) and American firm Amerada Hess on possible additional gas supplies for PLN?s power plants in Jakarta and Bekasi, West Java.

PLN?s deputy director for primary energy Tonny Agus Mulyantono said on Thursday that the three parties were talking over the possibility of delivering natural gas from Amerada Hess?s Jambi Merang block in Jambi to PLN?s power plants through the South Sumatra-West Java (SSWJ) pipeline owned by PGN.

Amerada Hess is expected to deliver 85 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) of gas to PLN?s power plant starting 2009. PLN has signed a heads of agreement (HOA) with Amerada Hess to get the supply for its Payo Selincah combined cycle power plant in Jambi.

?We thus will amend the HOA to allow Amerada to divert the gas that has been dedicated for Payo Selincah to our power plant in Muara Tawar. We expect to conclude negotiation with Amerada and PGN in the middle of January,? Tonny said.

The Muara Tawar power plant in Bekasi is one of three power plants whose capacity PLN would like to boost under the so-called ?repowering? program, financed by Japanese financial agency JBIC. The two other power plants are the Tanjung Priok and Muara Karang power plants, both located in Jakarta. The three power plants have the capacity of about 720 MW.

PLN has earlier secured gas supplies from PT Medco Energi International (50 MMCFD), state owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina (100 MMCFD) and PGN (50 MMCFD) which will get supplies from ConocoPhilips. All the gas will be delivered through PGN?s SSWJ pipeline. (Godang)