Aceh?s legislators oppose Pertamina-PLN agreement on gas prices

Members of the Aceh legislative council have opposed the agreement recently signed by state owned oil and gas Pertamina and state electricity company PLN related to the price of gas that would be sold to newly constructed Arun power plant, Suara Karya reported on Friday.

The opposition would result in the delay of the operation of the new power station next year. The new power plant which will have a generating capacity of 66 MW, needs about 21 million cubic feet (MMCFD) per day.

Sources said that the Aceh legislators opposed the price agreement because the deal would reduce the province?s income from oil and gas by RP 7 billion a year. But the opposition has been widely criticized by the people who have suffered a lot due to the shortage of the power supply in the province.

According to the agreement, the price of gas sold to the new power plant is US$1.87 per million British Thermal Unit (MMBTU) while the legislators demanded the price to be set at the same level of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) price which reaches US$3.2 per barrel. (*)