Indonesia: LNG Sales Down but Value on the Rise

Indonesia’s liquefied natural gas exports fell 14 percent in August compared to a year earlier, though the value of shipments jumped almost 62 percent, a Bank Indonesia report showed.

August exports of the super-cooled gas, which hit 100 million British thermal units (mmbtu), were valued at $1.33 billion compared to $822 million in the same month last year.
Asian liquefied natural gas prices have jumped recently due to strong demand after the March earthquake in Japan, reaching more than $17 per mmbtu, or double last year’s levels.
Export volumes in August last year were at their highest in 2010. Shipments from Indonesia, the world’s third-biggest LNG exporter, have fallen due to rising domestic demand as more power plants turn to gas.
In 2011’s first eight months, Indonesia shipped 733 mmbtu of LNG, down 8 percent on a year earlier, the BI report said.

In August, exports fell 20 percent to 10.2 million barrels, reflecting Indonesia’s declining output from ageing fields. But their value jumped 19 percent to $1.1 billion, as global crude oil prices rise.
Upstream oil and gas regulator BPMigas is trying to review price contracts of gas sales so it can boost state revenue from profit-sharing contracts with producers amid rising prices for natural gas.
It is targeting several gas purchasers, including state firm Perusahaan Gas Negara, which buys from producers to distribute to its customers.

The government’s stake in profit-sharing with gas producers can rise $6 billion a year if the government can renegotiate the selling price with two gas buyers, BPMigas head Raden Priyono said in early September.
BPMigas in July renegotiated with Malaysia’s Petronas Carigali — which signed a contract in 2002 to source gas from the East Natuna block — to increase the sale price from the gas block to nearly $6 per mmbtu, up from $2.80 per mmbtu.
Source: Reuters