Taipower opens Tatan LNG tender

State utility Taiwan Power Co (TaiPower) issued on Tuesday a tender to select a supplier for a 25-year liquified natural gas deal, with a final decision expected in April, 2003, Reuters reported Tuesday.

The company said it wanted to secure annual term supplies of 1.68 million tonnes.

The bidding to supply Taipower's Tatan plant, located in the northern county of Taoyuan, will close on March 24, 2003 and the winner will be announced within one month, an official said.

Taiwan held two rounds of bidding last year for 1.7 million tonnes of natural gas annually, but both failed because the number of bids fell below state minimums.

Winners of the bid are required to start supplying gas in 2008, the official said.

The LNG tender has drawn wide attention not only because of the size of the contract, but also because the winner of the deal will end a monopoly by state-owned Chinese Petroleum Corp , which owns Taiwan's sole LNG receiving terminal.

Taiwan is dependent on imported natural gas, taking more than 95 percent of its requirements from overseas, while demand is growing as more gas-fired power plants begin operations.

Indonesia's state oil company Pertamina had said it will bid for the LNG contract. Indonesia, the world's largest LNG supplier, currently sells around 3.4 million tonnes a year to Taiwan.(*)