RI may supply LNG to Singapore

Indonesia said on Tuesday it is willing to supply liquefied natural gas to Singapore, which is examining the feasibility of setting up a terminal to import the fuel, The Jakarta Post reported on Tuesday on its website.

"If we can reach an agreement, we would be very keen to bring our gas to Singapore," said Iin Arifin Takhyan, Indonesia's director general of oil and gas, during the OSEA 2004 oil and gas conference in Singapore.

Natural gas, used to generate 60 percent of Singapore's power, is currently supplied through pipelines from gas fields in Malaysia and Indonesia.

The Energy Market Authority, Singapore's power regulator, is considering ways to diversify the country's gas supply after a power failure blacked out almost a third of Singapore in June.

Singapore's government last month asked Royal Dutch/Shell Group and four other companies to submit proposals for a feasibility study on the import of LNG.

The study is expected to start in January next year and be completed within 12 months, Vivian Balakrishnan, senior minister of state for trade and industry said in a speech at the conference's opening ceremony.(*)