S'pore gas import studied

S'pore gas import studied

SINGAPORE (AFP): Eleven foreign firms have bid to become
Singapore government consultants looking into importing natural
gas in liquefied or piped form for power stations and households,
an official said.

Power-guzzling Singapore at present imports gas via a pipeline
from neighboring Malaysia and is discussing buying natural gas
from Indonesia's petroleum giant Pertamina.

Officials said the appointed consultant, apart from other
works, "will provide comprehensive information on all sizable
known and potential sources of exportable gas supplies, and
identify suitable sites in Singapore for the gas receiving
stations and liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal."

Under the LNG process, the natural gas found in the field has
first to be liquefied via a cooling process, to enable it to be
transported by special LNG tankers to customers' import terminals
and receiving stations, where the LNG is reconverted to gaseous
form.

Building a liquefaction-cum-receiving terminal could cost
about US$5 billion, industry sources said.