Indonesia is forecast to have 63 excess LNG cargoes next year from the Tangguh and Bontang LNG plants due to the rise in natural gas production, which the domestic market is unable to absorb because of lack of infrastructure, a senior government official said Friday.
"We are in the middle of negotiating the sale of 13 cargoes of the 63. We aim to sell the cargoes to existing buyers rather than on the spot market," oil and gas director general Wiratmaja Puja said, adding that excess cargoes are expected to rise above 63 in 2018.
In 2016, Indonesia is still has 11 cargoes that have not been sold. The government is still seeking buyers for these cargoes, Puja said.
Indonesia's LNG plants are Tangguh in Papua, Bontang in East Kalimantan and Donggi Senoro in Central Sulawesi. Bontang plans to produce 147 LNG cargoes this year or the equivalent of 8.3 million mt. The planned output is less than 2015's 189 cargoes or 10.6 million mt/year.
State-owned oil and gas company Pertamina has forecast Indonesian LNG demand is likely to be 12 million mt/year in 2019-20 because domestic gas demand will increase by 4% a year.
Pertamina has secured LNG import commitments totaling 3 million mt/year, including 1.52 million mt/year under a 20-year contract from Houston-based Cheniere Energy. The first phase of supply from Cheniere of 76,000 mt/year will start in 2018, with the second phase starting by 2019.
Indonesia has to import LNG to cover domestic demand because a substantial part of its own production is earmarked for export under long-term contracts.
