Indonesia sees LNG exports falling 25% this year
By FITRI WULANDARI
Bloomberg
Indonesia’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports may drop by a quarter this year as domestic demand climbs and contracts with several overseas buyers are set to expire.
Indonesia may ship 200 LNG cargoes overseas, compared with 267 cargoes in 2014, Amien Sunaryadi, the head of SKK Migas, the country’s upstream oil and gas regulator, said in an interview in Jakarta.
Domestic commitments may rise to 58 cargoes this year, from 31 cargoes in 2014, according to Sunaryadi, who was made the regulator’s head in November.
Indonesia is increasing its reliance on natural gas to meet domestic energy demand as its aging oil fields pump less crude. Gas supply allocated for the domestic market is estimated to rise to 23.4 trillion cubic feet this year from 22.7 trillion in 2014, according to data published by the regulator in December.
State-owned energy firm PT Pertamina Persero signed deals with Cheniere Energy to import as much as 1.52 million tpy of LNG for 20 years, starting in 2018, to meet domestic needs.
“Our consumption will grow,” Sunaryadi said. “That will increase gas allocation for domestic use and cut allocation for exports.”
The regulator also won’t extend LNG export contracts that expire this year, he said.
A former member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Indonesia sought target in 2012 to restore output to 1 million bpd by 2014. That target will be difficult to meet as output from new projects isn’t enough to stem declines from aging fields, Sunaryadi said.
“We need to explore first to find oil,” he said. “Our exploration hasn’t been aggressive in the past years.”
Oil Production
The country’s crude production has fallen more than 50% since the mid-1990s as shifting regulations and complicated permits discourage investments in new fields.
Indonesia targets production of 849,000 bpd this year, Sunaryadi said. The country pumped 794,000 bpd in 2014, according to the regulator’s data.
The regulator also plans to terminate contracts for 41 blocks that are in exploration stage this year, Sunaryadi said. Contracts will be terminated for companies that have failed to meet performance targets, haven’t found oil or gas or with expiring contracts, he said.
- Gasum powers Equinor's platform supply vessel with bio-LNG
- ADNOC deploys pioneering AI-enabled process optimization technology
- Mexico Pacific announces long-term LNG SPA with POSCO International
- ONEOK to acquire Medallion and controlling interest in EnLink for $5.9 B
- Golar LNG signs EPC deal for $2.2-B MK II FLNG conversion project
Comments