Kogas expects Bontang LNG

Kogas expects Bontang LNG

SEOUL (Dow Jones): State-run Korea Gas Corp. is near to closing a deal to acquire one cargo of liquefied natural gas from Indonesia's Bontang gas field that was originally allocated for Taiwan, a Kogas official told Dow Jones Newswires Thursday.

"There is a possibility to secure one cargo (originally scheduled) for Taiwan," the official said. "We will return the same volume sometime in April."

The volume acquired would be about 56,000 metric tons of LNG, he added. Kogas is South Korea's sole LNG importer.

South Korea and Japan have been scrambling since early this week when ExxonMobil Oil Indonesia Inc., a unit of Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), suspended natural gas pumping at its three onshore blocks - Arun, Lhoksukon and Pase - due to civil unrest in Indonesia's Aceh province.

The company's three blocks produce a total of 1.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily. ExxonMobil Oil Indonesia is the sole natural gas supplier to PT Arun Gas and liquefies the gas before it is shipped to South Korea and Japan.

The Kogas official said a senior executive in his company went to Taiwan this week to negotiate with officials of state-run Chinese Petroleum Corp. about swapping LNG deliveries. CPC is the island's only LNG importer.