RI targets Southeast Asia to market its Natuna gas
RI targets Southeast Asia to market its Natuna gas
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia plans to market natural gas from the
planned multi-billion dollar gas project in Natuna, Riau, to
Southeast Asian and Indochinese countries.
State Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie
yesterday said all Southeast Asian and Indochinese countries were
in the radius of Natuna's natural gas pipeline market.
"Out of this radius, Natuna's natural gas will be less
competitive than liquefied natural gas (LNG)," Habibie said after
addressing the German-Indonesia Forum on Saturday.
He noted that Thailand was the only country committed to
buying Natuna's natural gas. Indonesia has approached its
traditional gas buyers, including Japan, Taiwan and South Korea,
to promote LNG from Natuna, but to no avail.
"The Natuna gas can actually be sold through piping not only
to Thailand, but also to Vietnam and Southern China," Habibie
said, adding that he had asked Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir
Mohammad for permission to build the pipeline from Natuna to
Rayong in Thailand via Malaysia.
According to the initial plan, the Natuna-Rayong pipeline
network will pass Arun in Aceh to feed natural gas to Arun's gas
liquefaction plants.
The Natuna gas project is believed to be Indonesia's largest
gas field. The field is estimated to contain 222 trillion cubic
feet of natural gas but only 75 percent of the gas is recoverable
because of its high carbon dioxide (CO2) content.
Some of the natural gas will be pipelined directly to
consumers, and some will be processed into LNG. The CO2 will also
be liquefied and brought into the proposed multi-billion Membramo
project in Irian Jaya for power plants and be used in making
synthetic gas, methane and ethanes.
It will cost about US$40 billion to develop the Natuna gas
field, build the necessary infrastructure and construct enough
LNG plants to produce 15 million tons of LNG a year.
Indonesia annually produces more than 22 million tons of LNG
from two gas fields, Arun and Bontang in East Kalimantan. Most of
the LNG goes to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
Habibie said the Membramo integrated project would cost three
times more than the Natuna project. The Membramo project will
include the creation of rice fields along the Membramo river and
the building of dams for power projects and irrigation purposes.
Industrial projects will be set up downstream.
"The Membramo project will provide rice fields with good soil
about the size of Java," Habibie said, adding that the Membramo
project would be environmentally friendly.
He said he would bring up the idea of building the two mega
projects -- Natuna and Membramo -- with German Federal
Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who is visiting now, and ask for his
support. (rid)