Indonesia's Regulator Says 21 Extra LNG Cargoes May Go to Quake-Hit Japan - Bloomberg

Indonesia, the world’s third- largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, may send as many as 21 additional cargoes of the fuel to Japan this year, an official at the nation’s energy regulator said.

PT Pertamina, Indonesia’s state oil and gas company, has agreed to ship seven cargoes from its Bontang plant in East Kalimantan province to Tohoku Electric Power Co. in April and May, said an official at BPMigas, asking not to be identified as the sales haven’t been made public. Three cargoes for May to June delivery are under negotiation with buyers and 11 are available for June to December, the official said.
Nanang Untung, senior vice president of gas at Jakarta- based Pertamina, said the plan is being discussed by the government, declining to give further details. Gde Pradnyana, a spokesman for BPMigas, said the shipments will come from cargoes slated for the spot markets.

Japan, which relies on fuel imports for most of its energy needs, is seeking to expand supply of alternative sources after the nation’s biggest earthquake recorded on March 11 forced the shutdown of 20 percent of the country’s nuclear output. The nation consumed 35 percent of the world’s LNG in 2009, more than any other country, according to BP Plc’s Statistical Review.
Indonesia may divert cargoes to Japan from BP’s Tangguh LNG plant in West Papua province that were originally to be shipped to Sempra Energy (SRE)’s terminal in Mexico’s Baja California, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Darwin Saleh said March 23.

LNG is natural gas chilled to liquid form for transportation by ships to places not connected by pipelines. Qatar and Malaysia are the world’s largest and second-biggest exporters of the fuel, respectively.