RI to ship more LNG to Japan, if there is surplus in production

Indonesia will meet the Japanese government?s request to buy more liquefied natural gas (LNG), if there is a surplus in the country?s LNG production, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Darwin Zahedy Saleh has said.

Darwin said in Jakarta on Wednesday that he was still waiting for a report from oil and gas upstream regulator BPMIGAS and the directorate general of oil and gas on the status of the country?s LNG production.

If there is a surplus in the production, it will be used to meet the Japanese government?s request to buy more LNG from Indonesia, the minister said. ?We will see if we could help Japan, which has long established relations with Indonesia,? he said.

However, he said that Indonesia would continue to prioritize the use of its gas production for the domestic market in line with the national energy policy.

During a recent visit to Indonesia, Japan?s vice foreign minister Makiko Kikuta had officially requested additional LNG supply from Indonesia to enable the country to produce more power from gas fired power plants to meet the massive power shortage following the closure of the country?s nuclear power plants.

Last week BPMIGAS said that about 20 cargoes of LNG at the Bontang plant in East Kalimantan were available for sales.

Indonesia, which is one of the world?s LNG producers, exports its LNG to Japan, South Korea, Taiwan , China and several other countries. (*)