Pertamina picks Chiyoda, Bechtel's designs for Tangguh LNG plant

State oil and gas company Pertamina has chosen Japanese joint venture Chiyoda-Mitsubishi and American firm Bechtel to make the front end engineering design (FEED) for its Tanguh LNG plant in Wiriagar area in Irian Jaya, the Jakarta Post reported.

The paper quoted industrial sources as saying that the selection had yet to be approved by Minister of Mines and Energy.

Chiyoda proposed FEED based on Shell's air product and chemical international (APCI) technology at the price of US$2.6 million, while Bechtel proposed a design based on Phillips' optimized cascade process technology at the price of $8 million.

The project's owners - Pertamina and American firm ARCO and partners - earlier estimated the cost of the design at $10 million.

There were seven bidders participating in the tender, including Inti Karya Persada Teknik (IKPT), which has built several LNG plants in Badak, East Kalimantan. (*)