Pertamina and BP submit bid to supply LNG to Guangdong

Pertamina and BP submit bid to supply LNG to Guangdong

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

State-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina and BP Indonesia, a
subsidiary of British American giant BP Plc., officially
submitted on Tuesday a joint bid to supply liquefied natural gas
(LNG) to China's Guangdong industrial province.

Pertamina director general of oil and gas Rachmat Sudibyo said
that the LNG would come from the Tangguh LNG project in Irian
Jaya.

"This tender is very important for the Tangguh (project) and
the development of the Papua province, so we must fully support
it," he told the Jakarta Post.

The bid was tabled as five ministers, including Minister of
Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Minister of
Trade and Industry Rini Soewandhi, State Minister of State
Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi, Minister of Maritime Affairs and
Fisheries Rokhmin Dahuri and Minister of Resettlement and
Regional Infrastructure Soenarno, flew to China late on Monday to
meet Premier Zhu Rongji.

The ministers would meet with other top officials to promote
economic cooperation between the two countries.

Separately, BP Indonesia vice president for government affairs
Satya W. Yudha said that under the joint proposal, Pertamina and
BP Indonesia promised to purchase Chinese-made products as a
counter trade should they win the supply contract.

He said that the contract's tender process to select one
supplier would be completed in three months.

The contract offers potential sales totaling 3 million tons of
LNG annually, beginning in 2005.

A deal with China would pave the way for the construction of
the LNG plant in Tangguh, which is jointly developed by Pertamina
and BP.

Indonesia is competing with other major LNG producers such as
Malaysia, Qatar and Australia.