"We hope the project would be started next year," Director General of Oil and Gas IGN Wiratmaja Puja said.Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources expects virtual pipelines for the distribution of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to be built by 2018.
Director General of Oil and Gas IGN Wiratmaja Puja stated here on Thursday that the government is awaiting the results of a study conducted by state-owned oil company Pertamina, National Gas Company PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN), and the state-owned electricity company PT PLN that will build the virtual pipelines.
"We hope the project would be started next year," Puja said after opening the Indonesia Gas Summit and Exhibition 2017.
The virtual pipeline scheme is a gas distribution system through LNG vessels connecting islands in the country.
Puja said several investors are interested in the construction that will cost a total of US$48 billion for infrastructure development and will be built by 2030.
The construction of virtual pipelines will be divided into four clusters in areas that have no gas infrastructure: Cluster I covering Papua and West Papua, with a gas demand of 427 million cubic feet per day (MMSCFD); Cluster II encompassing Maluku, North Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, and Southeast Sulawesi, with a gas demand reaching 290 MMSCFD; and Cluster III comprising West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, and South Sulawesi, with a gas requirement of 284 MMSCFD.
Meanwhile, Cluster IV covers Natuna Islands and West Kalimantan, with a gas demand of 50 MMSCFD.
Puja believes that the gas distribution system using virtual pipelines will make the supply chain more effective, so that the LNG gas prices become more efficient.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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