Winning bidder for Tangguh LNG cargoes to be announced soon

By Godang Sitompul

Upstream authority BPMIGAS will soon announce the winning bidder for four cargoes of LNG from the Tangguh LNG refinery in Papua.

The LNG price range formed during the tender process is between US$12-15 per mmbtu, although the final selling price could later change, said BPMIGAS Head R. Priyono on Monday.

BP Indonesia, the operator of the Tangguh LNG refinery, has recently opened up bid for four cargoes of LNG to be shipped overseas. Priyono said that the bidding process has started since June, but the process has yet to be completed.

The four cargoes were originally contracted to Sempra, but the US firm has decided not to take the LNG.

?The four cargoes have been put on tender, but the price is still low. But the tender process has yet to be completed. So the price may still change, we may announce it this week,? Priyono said.

He pointed out that the price may still change following news that Japan will activate two nuclear generators. ?Following news that Japan will activate its nuclear generators, the price of LNG tumbled. We?re surprised that the price is below our FSRU price,? he said.

Priyono said that there were better offer in terms of price from Japan and South Korea. He declined to disclose the names of the participating bidders, saying only that they include end users and traders. Prior to the news from Japan, the traders had made good price offer for the cargoes. In fact, one of the traders made a bid at about $17 per mmbtu.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak