PLN says ready to buy Donggi Senoro LNG

State electricity firm PLN is ready to buy gas from the proposed Donggi Senoro LNG project in Central Sulawesi to help covering its gas supply deficit, a company?s top official said on Monday.

President Director Fahmi Muchtar told reporters that PLN is ready to buy as long as the price is ?reasonable? and ?mutually beneficial? to both PLN and producers.

Fahmi said Donggi Senoro LNG might supply proposed LNG terminals in Jakarta and North Sumatra, which PLN is planning to develop along with partners state oil, gas company PT Pertamina and state gas distribution firm PGN.

Pertamina, along with partners Mitsubishi Corp and Medco Energi plan to develop a 2MTPA LNG plant in Central Sulawesi with gas supply would come from Pertamina?s Donggi/Matindok Block and Pertamina-Medco-operated Senoro-Toili block.

Donggi Senoro LNG had signed HoAs to sell the entire gas from the plant to Japanese firms Kansai Electric Power and Chubu Electric.

The project, however, is in the state of limbo after VP Jusuf Kalla decided that gas produced from the project must be sold to domestic market.

Kansai Electric, finally said it canceled plan to buy LNG from the project with Chubu is widely expected to follow suit.

A Medco official said it was very difficult to find domestic offtakers who are willing to pay as high as Kansai and Chubu.(godang)