Kogas resumes normal LNG imports from Arun

Kogas resumes normal LNG imports from Arun

Dow Jones, Seoul/Tokyo

Korean Gas Corp (Kogas) has resumed normal imports of liquefied natural gas from Indonesia's Arun gas field after months of disruption due to security concerns caused by civil unrest.

"The facilities are restored at Arun and...production is normalized," a Kogas official said Wednesday in Seoul.

ExxonMobil Indonesia Inc., a unit of Exxon Mobil Corp., resumed some of its natural gas operations in mid-July after a four-month shutdown due to security concerns in the restive Aceh province. The company is the sole natural gas operator at Arun.

South Korea partially resumed LNG imports from Arun in September, taking only two cargoes compared with its normal monthly volume of three to four cargoes. During the Arun disruption, South Korea sought additional LNG supplies from Brunei and Malaysia to meet domestic demand.

Kogas resumed normal imports from Arun in October, importing four 56,000-metric-ton cargoes of LNG. Three cargoes have been imported in November, the official said, adding that in 2002, Kogas expects to import its normal annual LNG volumes from Arun.

South Korea has a long-term contract with Indonesia - its largest LNG supplier - to import annually 2.3 million tons of LNG from Arun, 1 million tons from Bontang and 2 million tons from either Arun or Bontang.

Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Japan's Tohoku Electric Power Co. (Tepco) said Wednesday that its liquefied natural gas imports from Arun have almost recovered to normal levels after eight months of supply disruption.