Pertamina eyes more LNG contracts from Japan

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

State oil and gas company Pertamina said Friday that it would be more aggressive in selling the country's liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Japan, which was predicting a rising demand for the commodity from 2007 to 2010.

"Japan will need an additional 2 to 5 million tons of LNG during that period. We are striving to secure this demand," Pertamina president Baihaki Hakim said Friday.

He was planning to visit Japan in the near future to explore the opportunities.

Japan is one of Indonesia's traditional LNG buyers.

Baihaki said that Pertamina would offer LNG from various LNG fields in Indonesia, including from the Tangguh field in Papua, the Badak LNG plant in Bontang in East Kalimantan and from other fields.

But he dismissed an earlier report in this paper that Pertamina would prioritize the Tangguh project to supply the Japanese LNG market.

He said all LNG fields, which are being operated by different companies, would receive "equal attention" from Pertamina in their efforts to take a piece of the Japanese market.

"Our interest is to get the LNG sold," Baihaki said.

Baihaki acknowledged that his company's task was not easy, because Pertamina would face stiff competition from other countries, including Russia and South Korea.

However, he expressed optimism that Pertamina would be able to win part of the action on grounds that Japan had faith in the company because of years of business transactions.

"The government is behind us. Pertamina is merely a selling tool for the Indonesian government," Baihaki said.

LNG demand in Japan is projected to rise because prominent Japanese power plants Tokyo and Chubu Electric Power Co. have suspended using their nuclear power plants following problems and a series of cover-up scandals.