The progress of the gas network so far has only reached 835 thousand household connections, of which 241 thousand were funded by the state-owned gas firm PT PGN and 594 thousand from the government, he informed after attending an internal meeting the President Joko Widodo here on Thursday.
"Therefore, we plan to increase the gas network (coverage) in 2024," he added.
The meeting, which took place at the Presidential Palace, discussed the increasing use of household gas networks and the distribution of 3-kilogram liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) canisters.
According to the minister, a revision to the presidential regulation is needed to enable the private sector to participate in the development of the city gas network.
Hartarto said that under the revised presidential regulation, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources would be made responsible for government and business entity cooperation (KPBU).
The household gas network needs to be expanded because the current network coverage of 835 thousand is too low, he added.
"The original target was 4 million networks (connections). However, it is difficult to achieve 4 million networks in 2024. Therefore, from 835 thousand networks, we hope we can increase it to 2.5 million in 2024. The private sector should be involved to help achieve the goal," he pointed out.
Therefore, a presidential regulation is needed so that the private sector can carry out KPBU, he explained.
"The price for the gas network must be at US$4.72 per MMBtu (1 Million British Thermal Units). Otherwise, we cannot switch LPG to gas network," Hartarto said.
The special task force for upstream oil and gas business activities (SKK Migas) will be made the acting aggregator to supply LPG at US$4.72 per MMBtu, he added.
The President has also sought solutions to encourage LPG producers to continue production.
"Of course, it will require a pricing policy from the state-owned oil company, Pertamina. We will finalize it," Hartarto said.
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Translator: Rangga Pandu Asmara J, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Tia Mutiasari
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