S Korea expects to receive LNG from Arun in October: Report
Thursday, July 19 2001 - 03:42 PM WIB
However, the official said it wasn't immediately clear when Indonesia will restart its LNG export.
Indonesia told the ministry that it would restart exporting LNG to South Korea from August, but South Korea doesn't have the room to receive the volume until October, the official said.
"We can't receive LNG (from Aceh) until October" because South Korea has already made arrangements to replace LNG supply from Aceh until September, the official said. However, Indonesia hasn't confirmed when natural gas exports from Aceh will restart, he added.
An official at Korea Gas Corp. or Kogas, also said Kogas has secured enough LNG until September. However, the official said Kogas anticipates a shortage of supply if Indonesia doesn't provide LNG from Aceh after September as South Korea's LNG demand rises in the second half of the year due to seasonal reasons.
ExxonMobil Oil Indonesia Inc., a unit of Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), said Thursday the company has resumed limited operations in Aceh after a four-month suspension due to fighting between rebels and government troops.
ExxonMobil Indonesia had begun a phased resumption of gas production at one of its four gas fields and production volumes were likely to increase in the next few days if the pumping isn't interrupted by fighting between insurgents and the security forces, a company spokeswoman said.
Indonesia is South Korea's largest LNG supplier. South Korea has a long-term contract with Indonesia to import 5.3 million metric tons of LNG a year. (*)