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.