11-07-08 Indonesia's Medco Energi Internasional aims to make a final decision on building a $ 1.4 bn liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Sulawesi in the third quarter, an official at the energy firm said.
The plant would give LNG production in Indonesia, the world's second largest LNG exporter after Qatar, a much needed boost at a time when the country is struggling to juggle exports and local needs.

The Southeast Asian country has failed to meet its contractual commitments to traditional markets such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan due to a slump in production. Medco, Indonesia's state oil firm Pertamina and Japan's Mitsubishi signed an agreement in August, 2007, to build the LNG plant with a capacity of 2 mm tpy.
"A final investment decision is expected in the third quarter of 2008," Lukman Mahfoedz, Medco's director, told, adding that if the plant went ahead it should be in operation by the third quarter of 2012 and cost around $ 1.4 bn. A Pertamina official had said previously the LNG plantwas expected to be in operation in 2010.

The outlook for Indonesia's LNG exports have been put in doubt by plans to divert more of its production to domestic use at a time when its oil and gas output has been under pressure from ageing fields and lags in bringing new production onstream.
Indonesia has far more gas than oil but it faces limited supplies due to long-term LNG export commitments, which it is reviewing. Indonesia has about 182 tcf of natural gas reserves.