RI hopes to strike LNG deals in December

RI hopes to strike LNG deals in December

Indonesia expects to strike a final agreement in December to sell
liquefied natural gas to Mexico and the U.S. West Coast,
Indonesia's Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said here on
Thursday.

"If negotiations over the price of the LNG conclude, we can
sign the agreement in December," Purnomo told reporters.

Mexico and the U.S. West Coast are nontraditional markets for
Indonesia. However, the country has been actively marketing its
LNG to nontraditional markets due to rising competition from
other producers including Malaysia, Australia and Qatar.

"We hope that we can sell our LNG at above US$4/MMBtu,"
Purnomo said, adding that the price is slightly higher than the
domestic price of $3.50 per million British thermal units.

Purnomo said negotiations are continuing with Sempra Energy
and Marathon Oil Corp. Sempra and Marathon are two of four
companies wanting to build gas processing plants in Baja
California, Mexico. The gas from the plants will be sold on the
Mexican market and on the U.S. West Coast.

Purnomo said Indonesia plans to supply between 5 million and 6
million tons a year of LNG to Mexico for around 20 years starting
in 2007. -- Dow Jones