PLN seeks for greater gas supply

Amid heightened demand for electricity, state-owned electricity firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) is seeking for more gas to feed its power plants.

Chief of PLN?s oil-based fuel and gas division Suryadi Mardjoeki was quoted Monday by The Jakarta Post as saying the company would need 28 cargos of liquefied natural gas (LNG) this year. The number will double to 56 cargos in 2015 and is expected to increase to 60 the following year.

Of the total cargos needed next year PLN has secured 22 from the Bontang plant in East Kalimantan and 12 from the Tangguh plant in Papua.

?We have requested that SKKMigas [the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Task Force] allocate us LNG. If there is no allocation, we must import,? Suryadi said.

Despite having significant amount of natural gas resources, domestic consumption had been low, causing the country to become a major LNG exporter. But the government has recently pushed for increase domestic utilization of gas to help cut down dependency on the more expensive petroleum fuel.

Figures from upstream oil and gas authority SKKMigas showed that domestic gas distribution reached 52.1 percent of total production in 2013, double the 2003 figure of only 25 percent. This year, SKKMigas is targeting 57.3 percent of total gas produced to be sold to the domestic market, the paper said.

Along with the government?s attempt to boost domestic consumption, PLN has been trying to increase gas usage to reduce oil fuel consumption, which is considered more expensive. PLN is now the biggest gas consumer in the domestic market. (*)