PLN, Petronas renegotiating Muriah gas price

State electricity firm PT PLN (Persero) is in renegotiation with Malaysian oil, gas firm Petronas Carigali over gas price from the latter?s Muriah PSC block offshore East Java.

PLN Director Nur Pamudji told Petromindo.Com on Tuesday that Petronas has been asking for price revision from the agreed price of US$4.98 per MMBTU in 2008 to between $6-7 per MMBTU.

?Renegotiation is still in progress,? he said.

Gas from Kepodang field in Muriah block will be supplied to PLN?s power plant in Tambak Lorok, Central Java.

?If renegotiation can be completed in June, it will take 36 months to get the first gas,? Pamudji said, adding that PLN will receive gas at its gate.

Under the deal, PLN will receive 200MMCFD of gas for 10 years which will be piped through 200-km pipeline. Petronas was originally planning to build the pipeline by itself, but the government decided to give the right to develop the pipeline to politically connected company PT Bakrie & Brothers and Petronas must may toll fee to pipe the gas to Tambak Lorok.

The decision apparently caused delay in the project which is originally scheduled to start deliver gas in 2012 and forced Petronas to make new price calculation. (bernard)