Arun NGL plant to be reopened his week: Govt<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (Agencies): Mines and Energy Minister said on Tuesday
\nhe expected Exxon Mobil's gas fields in its rebellious Aceh
\nprovince to resume normal operations this week.<\/p>\n
Production at the PT Arun NGL plant was hit after its top
\nsupplier Exxon Mobil closed three fields on Friday due to
\nsecurity concerns, casting a cloud over one of Indonesia's
\nbiggest export earners.<\/p>\n
\"Security has been reinforced there,\" minister Purnomo
\nYusgiantoro told reporters. \"We expect the gas fields and LNG
\noperations can return to normal this week.\"<\/p>\n
\"I have told our LNG (liquefied natural gas) buyers that we
\nwill do our best to fulfil our commitments. We still have excess
\ncapacity from our Bontang LNG centre. Therefore, we have not
\ndeclared a force majeure.\"<\/p>\n
However, ExxonMobil Oil Indonesia Inc., a unit of Exxon Mobil
\nCorp., said it shut down its operations completely in restive
\nAceh province on Tuesday on deteriorating security.<\/p>\n
\"It's not a safe environment for us to work,\" ExxonMobil Oil's
\nspokesperson Julia Tumengkol told Dow Jones Newswires.<\/p>\n
She said the company suspended natural gas pumping in its
\nthree onshore blocks Arun, Lhoksukon and Pase. The three blocks
\nproduce a total of 1.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily.<\/p>\n
ExxonMobil Oil late last week had started to reduce operation
\ndue to deteriorating security in the province.<\/p>\n
ExxonMobil Oil is the sole natural gas supplier to PT Arun
\nGas, which liquefies the natural gas before it's ship to South
\nKorean and Japanese buyers.<\/p>\n
Purnomo said exports from Arun were worth about 12 trillion
\nrupiah (US$1.2 billion) a year out of a total 30 trillion from
\nLNG.<\/p>\n
The PT Arun NGL plant was barely producing LNG on Monday after
\nExxon Mobil's field closures.<\/p>\n
The government said Monday it will meet gas deliveries to
\nSouth Korean and Japanese buyers with LNG from Bontang or will
\nask Malaysian and Australian producers to plug in the shortage.<\/p>\n
ExxonMobil Oil's facilities and staff have been repeatedly
\nattacked and its operations are frequently hampered due to
\nclashes between insurgents and Indonesian security forces.<\/p>\n
Tuesday, Defense Minister Mohammad Mahfud said a \"limited
\nmilitary operation\" would soon be launched against guerrillas
\nfighting for independence in the province.<\/p>\n
In a related development, an executive of state-run Korea Gas
\nCorp. (Kogas) said earlier in Seoul that a vessel loaded with
\n56,000 metric tons of liquefied natural gas for delivery to South
\nKorea left Monday from Indonesia's Arun gas field and is expected
\nto dock in Pyongtaek March 19.<\/p>\n
The official said the vessel Hoegh Gandria began loading LNG
\nSunday evening after a day-long delay.<\/p>\n
A second vessel is expected to begin loading another 56,000
\ntons of LNG on Wednesday, with delivery to South Korea slated for
\nMarch 22, the Kogas official said. This will be the last loading
\nfor the month for Kogas from Arun.<\/p>\n
\"We haven't heard anything from Indonesia's state oil and gas
\ncompany Pertamina indicating that there will be a delay in the
\nsecond lifting,\" the Kogas official said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/arun-ngl-plant-to-be-reopened-his-week-govt-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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