By November, Gas Price Should be Under US$6
Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung gives explanation to the journalists after a Limited Meeting on gas price for industry, at the Presidential Office, Jakarta, on Tuesday (4/10) afternoon
Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said that President Joko Widodo has assigned Coordinating Minister for the Economy Darmin Nasution, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut B. Pandjaitan, Minister of Industry Airlangga Hartarto, and Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati to recalculate the price of gas, either for industry or other purposes.
The President gave the assignment to finalize the price of gas, at the latest, by November 2016. The price must be suppressed from US$9.5/mmbtu to under US$6/mmbtu, Pramono firmly said to the journalists after the Limited Meeting on gas price for industry, at the Presidential Office, Jakarta, on Tuesday (4/10) afternoon.
Certainly, Cabinet Secretary added, the price of gas for domestic or export demand must be same so it would be easier to arrange.He further said that the President also assigned Minister of Industry Airlangga Hartarto not to depend on other countries in the future. Thus, the Minister has a duty to develop derivative industries of petrochemical or other gas industries.
As reported previously, President Joko Widodo thought that the price of natural gas in Indonesia is relatively high compared to other countries, particularly in ASEAN. The price of gas in Indonesia is approximately US$9.5/mmbtu. In some areas, the price reaches US$11 or 12/mmbtu. Meanwhile, in Vietnam, the price of gas is only US$7; in Malaysia and Singapore, the price is US$4. In the meantime, the President added, Indonesia has quite a lot of potential reserves of oil and gas, whereas those countries are natural gas importers.
The President asked to carry out concrete measures so that Indonesias gas price would be more competitive, I have calculated it and the result is around US$5-6/mmbtu. Hopefully, it could be under this calculation, the President said. (RAH/FID/ES)(MMB/YM/Naster)
