Petronas Is To Win 40% In Gas Pipeline

A group led by Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) may win a 40% stake in a US$485mil natural gas pipeline from Sumatra to Singapore, Indonesia’s state gas company said.

The group is “very likely” to win the bid for a 40% stake in PT Transgasindo, a unit of Indonesia’s PT Perusahaan Gas Negara, which will build the 450km pipeline, chief executive W.M.P. Simandjuntak said in an interview.

Perusahaan Gas expected to announce the winner next month and complete construction in August 2003, he said.

Petronas is bidding against two other groups, including one headed by Korea Gas Corp.

Transgasindo owns an existing 548km pipeline in Sumatra and will become owner of the new one linking Sumatra to Singapore, the biggest natural gas user in South-East Asia.

Indonesia, home to the biggest proven natural gas reserves in East Asia, is seeking foreign investors to help it boost sales of natural gas as its oil reserves dwindle. Indonesia has 92.5 trillion cu ft of proven gas reserves at the end of last year, according to BP’s Annual Statistical Review of World Energy 2002.

Perusahaan Gas also planned to build a 400km pipeline from south Sumatra to Java, 400km away, to meet rising energy demand, Simandjuntak said. – Bloomberg

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