Tepco plans to lift LNG cargo from Arun

Tepco plans to lift LNG cargo from Arun

TOKYO (Dow Jones): Tokyo Electric Power Co., or Tepco, said
Wednesday that it plans to lift a liquefied natural gas cargo of
about 55,000 metric tons from Indonesia's Arun terminal Aug. 18.

It will be the first LNG export from Arun since the shutdown
of natural gas fields at the site mid-March due to security
concerns in Aceh province.

Tepco imports 510,000 tons a year of Arun LNG on a free-on-
board basis under a long-term contract with Indonesia's state-
owned Pertamina.

Unlike Tohoku Electric Power Co., another Japanese lifter of
Arun LNG, Tepco didn't seek alternative LNG in the wake of the
supply disruption, as its term volume isn't large, a Tepco
spokesman said.

Tohoku Electric, which buys 3 million tons a year of Arun LNG,
said Wednesday that it hasn't yet set a date for the resumption
of Arun imports as the company is awaiting a firm offloading
schedule by Pertamina.

"Pertamina told us they are prepared to offer a total 3
cargoes in August and 4 cargoes in September (to its term
lifters) if everything goes smoothly," a spokesman for Tohoku
Electric said. One LNG cargo typically contains 57,000-60,000
tons.

Tohoku Electric, which serves the northern part of Japan's
main island, has so far secured alternative LNG cargoes from
other supply sources, mainly from Bontang in East Kalimantan,
Indonesia and Malaysia to cover its requirements to the end of
September.