Mar 28, 2006

Indonesia not to stop LNG export, President says

Indonesia will consider extending its contract to supply LNG from Central Kalimantan Province to Japan after its end in 2010 and allocate more gas production to satisfy domestic needs, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said.

Indonesia will not completely stop gas sales to foreign countries, "We must see case by case about extension and sales volume of the contract," said Susilo. So far, Indonesia exports an average of 12 million tons of gas each year to Japan. Meanwhile, the president said that more gas production will be used to meet the demand of domestic fertilizer and electricity companies.

Indonesia, the world's top exporter of LNG, has about 182 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, sufficient to last 60 years at the current production rate.