New depot for Timor Gap gas

JAKARTA (JP): PT El Nusa, a subsidiary of state oil and gas company PT Pertamina, has almost completed the development of a Rp 30 billion (US$4 million) logistical depot in Kupang, East Nusatenggara, to support the Timor Gap gas project.

"We only have to complete the finishing touches to the depot," said Stanis Tefa, president of PT Flobamor, the project's main contractor, in Kupang yesterday.

Stanis said President Soeharto was scheduled to open the depot some time in June but did not give a specific date for the ceremony.

"We have completed the construction of the heliport on the depot site where the president will land for the inauguration," Stanis was quoted by Antara as saying.

Two joint ventures, which are led by Phillips Petroleum Co. Ltd. and Broken Hill Pth (BHP) Co. Ltd, have discovered a huge gas field in the Timor Gap, co-owned by the Indonesian and Australian governments.

The field, called Bayu Undan, is estimated to contain 350 million barrels of liquid hydrocarbons and three trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

The Indonesian and Australian governments, as well as the contractors, have agreed the gas would be fed to a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, but thus far they have not reached agreement over the location of the plant.

Phillips wants an LNG plant in Darwin, North Australia, but the Indonesian government prefers a floating plant in the Timor gap supported by a logistical depot in Kupang.

Former minister of mines and energy I.B. Sudjana, optimistic that all parties would agree to the development of a floating LNG plant in the Timor Gap, instructed Pertamina to build the logistical plant in Kupang without announcing the project publicly.

East Nusa Tenggara Governor Herman Musakabe said he was optimistic the LNG plant would be built in the Timor Gap and Kupang would be used as the logistical depot for the project.

"I think Kupang is better prepared than Darwin," Herman said recently during a visit to the project. (jsk)