[Kabar-indonesia] 16 RI oil/gas/mining reports: PLN; CNOOC; Pertamina; Medco; Exxon; Lapindo

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

Note: also see the previously sent: Indonesia to halve LNG to Japan - 
Sign of tough times ahead?; and Indonesia cuts fuel prices for 
industries [+Pertamina to import gas canisters]

16 Reports:

- Indonesia PLN May Favor Conventional
  Bond Issuance - Min
- CNOOC Eyes New LNG Terminal;
  Oil Prices Won't Hurt
- Platts: Indonesia to open 40-50 
  blocks for direct negotiations next year
- Platts: Pertamina, Medco to pick 
  Sulawesi LNG project partner next month
- Indonesia September Minas crude 
  $62.53/bbl - source
- Indonesia urges Exxonmobil, Pertamina 
  to speed up explorations
- Sound Oil H1 net loss widens to 441,000 
  stg vs 193,000 stg
- Indonesia's Energi H1 net profit 171.98 
  bln rupiah vs restated 159.64 bln
- Indonesia's Bapepam seeks clarification 
  of Lapindo sale
- Economic Times: Essel Mining to buy
  Indonesian co for $180m
- Global metallurgical coal prices to fall;
  thermal coal prices higher - Citigroup
- Finders Resources says results indicate
  significant zinc by-product from Wetar
- Platts: Australia's Indo Mines earns 
  30% stake in Java ironsands project
- Platts: Indonesia's Kaltim plans methanol
  turnaround from Jan/Feb 2007
- Indonesia's Bakrie Sumatra to build 
  bio-diesel plant in Batam
- Petromindo Headlines,
  Friday, September 29, 2006

Indonesia PLN May Favor Conventional Bond Issuance - Min

JAKARTA, September 29 (Dow Jones)--Indonesian electricity provider PT
Perusahaan Listrik Negara will this year likely issue conventional
bonds rather than Shariah-compliant bonds, a minister said.

The state-owned electricity company, also known as PLN, is planning to
issue about $1 billion in debt later this year to help finance the
development of several power plants across Indonesia.

PLN had planned to issue that debt in the form of Islamic bonds, or
sukuks, which would have made it the first Indonesian company to issue
international Shariah-compliant obligations. However, concerns over
Indonesia's regulatory environment are steering the company in the
direction of conventional bonds, Minister of State Enterprises'
Affairs Sugiharto said Friday.

"As regulations regarding Shariah bonds are not yet ready in
Indonesia, PLN's obligations are more likely to take the form of
global bonds," Sugiharto said Friday.

Sugiharto and PLN officials have previously expressed concerns that
sukuk issuance may be problematic given Indonesia's tax regulations.

Under current rules, sukuk buyers must pay 10% value added tax for the
transfer of beneficiary title of the sukuk's underlying assets. The
issuers later must pay the same tax when they take back the assets
when the Shariah-compliant bonds fall due.

Sugiharto has argued that sukuks should be exempted from the tax as
their issuance is a "financing mechanism," not a "buy and sell
transaction."

Analysts say these regulations will lead to complications in
international sukuk issues, as it will be difficult to tax
international buyers.

And such concerns are proving to be a stumbling block in PLN's plans
to issue sukuks, as the company intends to market the bonds to
international buyers in the U.S., Singapore, Hong Kong and some Middle
Eastern countries.

PLN will embark on a roadshow to these countries next week to promote
its bonds, Sugiharto said without giving further details.

Sugiharto also said that ratings agency Standard and Poor's has given
PLN's bonds a BB- rating with a stable outlook.

A spokesperson at Standard and Poor's was unable to confirm
Sugiharto's statement, saying that the agency hadn't yet issued a
rating for PLN's planned bond issuance.

---------------------------------

CNOOC Eyes New LNG Terminal; Oil Prices Won't Hurt

By Aries Poon 
   
HONG KONG, Sept. 29 (Dow Jones)--China National Offshore Oil Corp., the 
country's third-largest oil company by assets, plans to build a liquefied natural 
gas terminal in Zhuhai city that is to come on-line by 2010 with a mainland 
partner, as demand for gas in southern China remains insatiable. 

The recent pullback in crude oil prices won't hit the upstream profits of 
CNOOC, as the company is also called, as it had planned its operations based on 
an oil price assumption of US$45 a barrel, President Fu Chengyu told reporters 
Friday, after an extraordinary general meeting of listed unit CNOOC Ltd. 
(CEO). 

CNOOC plans to jointly build the Zhuhai LNG terminal with Guangdong Yue Dian 
Corp., the biggest power generator in southern China by capacity, Fu said. 

China's first and only LNG terminal - also built by CNOOC - is also situated 
in Guangdong, an affluent southern province. The facility, which has an annual 
capacity of 3.7 million metric tons, has been in operation since June, 
supplying gas originating from Australia's North West Shelf Project to Guangdong and 
neighboring Hong Kong. 

"Market demand (for natural gas) is very high in Guangdong," Fu said. 

CNOOC aims to be "one of the major shareholders" of the Zhuhai project, he 
said. The shareholding structure and investment amount are yet to be concluded, 
Fu said, adding that so far only preliminary feasibility studies have been 
done. 

Strong demand for the clean-burning fuel in Guangdong because of rapid 
industrialization and urbanization means the province could support more than one 
LNG receiving terminal. 

Even with the planned Xinjiang-Guangzhou gas pipeline, which was just 
approved by Beijing, demand still outstrips supply, Fu said. 

The Zhuhai terminal, which intends to supply gas to Guangdong and Hong Kong, 
comes at a time when CLP Holdings Ltd. (0002.HK), the larger of Hong Kong's 
two power companies, is seeking approval from the Hong Kong government to build 
a HK$8 billion LNG terminal, to be the city's first. 

China Petrochemical Corp., or Sinopec Group, has also started studying the 
feasibility of building its own LNG terminal in Guangdong. 

"(CNOOC) will build more LNG terminals along the coast," Fu said, without 
elaborating. 

Apart from the Guangdong terminal, CNOOC is building LNG terminals in Fujian 
province and Shanghai. Both are scheduled to come on-stream in 2008. 

However, China has shelved some other LNG terminal plans because its offers 
are deemed too low by some gas suppliers, industry people said. 

CNOOC said it has reached an agreement to import LNG from Indonesia's Tangguh 
project for its Fujian terminal, and also to import LNG from Petronas 
(PET.YY), Malaysia's national oil and gas company, for its Shanghai terminal. 

Fu Friday declined to disclose the price tag of the deals, which would 
possibly set a new pricing benchmark in the area's natural gas market, analysts 
said. 

Lower Oil Price Doesn't Hurt 
 
The recent drop in crude oil prices to the low US$60 range this month from 
US$78 in July won't affect CNOOC's upstream operations, which are mostly 
operated via CNOOC Ltd. 

"When we made our budget for this year, our internal forecast of oil price is 
US$45 (a barrel)," Fu said. 

"The fall, I think, is only short term. In the long term, I don't see demand 
and supply (of oil) are going to change significantly," he added. 

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) wrote in a research note Friday, "We think the 
signs are not yet clear enough to make an aggressive buy call across the sector - 
risks to crude prices still look mixed to us." 

Separately, Fu said CNOOC Ltd. isn't slowing down in acquiring overseas 
energy assets. 

"We aren't slowing down nor speeding up. We do (acquire) if we see good 
opportunities." 

Fu added that CNOOC Ltd. may seek an A-share listing on the mainland bourse 
"when the right time comes," without elaborating. The parent may also spin off 
its other businesses for listings. 

But, for now, there is no plan of doing any of those, he said. 

China BlueChemical Ltd. (3983.HK), a chemical fertilizer unit of CNOOC, made 
a strong debut in Hong Kong Friday, after raising US$342 million in an initial 
public offering that drew a strong response from retail and institutional 
investors. 

CNOOC, whose major business is upstream oil and gas exploration, also 
manufactures and distributes bitumen, low-sulfur fuel oil and chemical fertilizers in 
China. 

---------------------------------

Platts Commodity News
September 28, 2006

Indonesia to open 40-50 blocks for direct negotiations next year

The Indonesian government plans to invite interested companies for
direct negotiations over 40 to 50 exploration blocks in the country's
frontier areas next year, an official at the oil ministry said
Thursday.

While Indonesia has embraced the open tender system for awarding
exploration blocks, it occasionally still parcels out a few based on
direct negotiations with the interested parties.

"Major oil companies, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, Conoco and Total,
are interested in exploring our oil and gas blocks in frontier and
deep sea areas. They are difficult areas, but may be interesting for
them," upstream director at the Oil and Gas Directorate, Priyono,
said.

Most of the challenging acreages are located in Southern Java, Western
Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Nusa Tenggara, Priyono said.

Under Indonesia's direct-offer mechanism, a company interested in a
block that has not been offered for open bidding, can take its
interest to the government. After discussions with the company, the
government opens up the block for a limited period to seek competitive
offers.

The most competitive offer wins. If there are no rivals, the original
company walks away with the block.

Indonesia is trying hard to attract investment dollars in its upstream
sector, to shore up its fast declining oil output. Last month, it
invited bids for 41 exploration blocks -- 20 through an open tender
and 21 through direct negotiations.

ExxonMobil, Total, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Malaysia's Petronas,
Italy's Eni, China's CNOOC and Amerada Hess of the US have expressed
interest in some of the blocks, Priyono said earlier.

The oil minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro has said that Indonesia might
missed its target of producing an average 1.05 million b/d by crude
and condensate this year by 20,000 b/d because of a faster output
decline in some producing fields.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Platts Commodity News
September 28, 2006

Pertamina, Medco to pick Sulawesi LNG project partner next month

Indonesia's state oil firm Pertamina and private upstream player Medco
Energi Internasional expect to pick a foreign partner next month for
their proposed LNG project in Central Sulawesi, officials from both
companies said Thursday.

"We are targeting to appoint our parnter in October this year,"
Medco's exploration and production President Director Lukman Mahfoedz
said.

Pertamina and Medco are evaluating several "world-class reputable"
potential investors, including Japan's Mitsubishi and Mitsui, he said.

Pertamina's Deputy Director of upstream development Tri Siwindono also
said Thursday the process to select a partner was ongoing, but he
declined to provide further details. Siwindono had said last month
that Mitsubishi was in talks to buy LNG from, as well as take an
equity stake in Indonesia's proposed project in Sulawesi.

But Lukman did not answer Platts' query on the role that might be
played by Australia's Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd, saying only: "The
partner appointed will build the LNG plant."

LNG Ltd, a Perth-based niche player which listed in 2004, specializes
in the development of small liquefaction plants based on discovered
but non-commercial gas resources. The company has announced plans to
build a 1.7-million-mt/yr LNG plant at Padang in Central Sulawesi,
which proposes to obtain gas feedstock from the nearby Senoro-Toili
gas fields jointly owned by Pertamina and Medco. In a June statement,
LNG Ltd said issues such as the gas delivery rate and suppliers'
proposed level of investment in its Padang project were delaying the
signing of a gas supply deal with the Indonesian parties.

"We will choose the most beneficial partnership for Medco and
Pertamina, taking into consideration who will be able to give us the
highest price for LNG and build the LNG plant quickly," Medco's Lukman
said.

"I think the structure (of partnership) will be a downstream company,"
Lukman added without elaborating.

Pertamina and Medco are planning for a project with a capacity of
between 2 million and 2.5 million mt/year, based on proven gas
reserves of 2.4 trillion cu ft from Pertamina's wholly owned Matindok
block and the jointly-owned Senoro area. The Indonesian companies'
proposed plant capacity is larger than the 1.7-million mt/year project
envisaged by LNG Ltd.

The liquefaction project proposed by Pertamina and Medco needs an
investment of around $600 million and is scheduled to be on stream by
2009-2010. Medco estimated that the combined upstream and downstream
investment required for the project would reach $650-700 million.

Medco and Pertamina have alternatives for their gas, such as selling
it as LNG to Japan, supplying it to Indonesia's 22.25-million-mt/year
Bontang LNG plant in East Kalimantan to address Bontang's upstream
reserves shortage, or to a proposed LNG receiving terminal in Java
island planned by Indonesian state-owned power utility Perusahaan
Listrik Negara, Siwindono had said.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Indonesia September Minas crude $62.53/bbl - source

TOKYO, September 28 (Reuters) - The official Indonesia Crude Price
(ICP) for Minas has been calculated at $62.53 a barrel for September,
an industry source said on Thursday.

The September price was down by $10.98 from August, when it was set at
a record high of $73.51.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Indonesia urges Exxonmobil, Pertamina to speed up explorations

WASHINTON DC, September 27 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - The Indonesian
government has urged ExxonMobil and state-owned oil and gas company PT
Pertamina to expedite gas and oil explorations for mutual benfit as
their production schedule would only commence in 2009.

"In the Cepu block, ExxonMobil has started working but we urge them to
expedite their exploration activities in 2008 although they do not
need to maximize their activities yet," Vice President Muhammad Jusuf
Kalla said after a meeting with executive officers of ExxonMobil and
other US big companies here Monday local time.

Kalla in the company of Minister of Trade Mari E Pangestu, Minister of
Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Deputy President
Director of Pertamina Iin Arifin Takhyan and secretary to the vice
president Gembong Prijono met with Senior Vice President Stuart R
McGill, Asia Pacific Vice President for Exploration and General
Manager of ExxonMobil for Indonesia Peter Coleman.

The vice president also met separately with executive officers of
Chevron, Newmon, Halliburton, General Electrics and Freeport Mc Moran
Corp.

According to Kalla, McGill promised to expedite operational activities
in the Cepu Block.

"So far there are no obstacles and its production schedule commences
in 2009. Otherwise, they ask Pertamina's personnel to prepare the
production," he said.

Arifin Takhyan said Pertamina would prepare 50 percent of personnel.

"Now 20 percent of our personnel has been involved in operational 
preparations.

The East Java legislative assembly has asked ExxonMobil and Pertamina
to soon carry out activities in Cepu Block in Banyu Urip village,
Bojonegoro district because there has no activities in the past two
months following the sigining of the Plan of Development (POD).

"This will cause local people to worry because they rely heavily on
the project. Therefore we urge them to carry out activities though a
working program in budget has yet to be signed by the executive agency
of upstream and business activities (BP Migas)," Edy Wahyudi, an
assemblyman said.

He also said that the companies should carry out community development
first and POD familiarization.

He hoped President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would soon issue a decree
on 10 pect of participating interest of local enterprises consortium.

The consortium consists of East Java, Bojonegoro district, Central
Java and Blora administrations.

--------------------------------------------------

Sound Oil H1 net loss widens to 441,000 stg vs 193,000 stg

LONDON, September 29 (AFX) - Sound Oil PLC, an upstream oil and gas
company with assets in Indonesia, said its interim net losses widened,
partly on higher exploration spending.

Net losses widened to 441,000 stg from 193,000 stg in the year-earlier
period. It has no turnover.

Its cash balance was 10.3 mln stg as at June 30 and it had 10.7 mln
stg, net of expenses, of equity finance.

The exploration company expects to drill its first well in Java,
Pasundan 1, in December.

---------------------------------------------------

Indonesia's Energi H1 net profit 171.98 bln rupiah vs restated 159.64 bln

JAKARTA, September 29 (XFN-ASIA) - Oil and gas firm PT Energi Mega
Persada's first half to June results:

Sales - 832.33 bln rupiah vs 803.44 bln
Operating profit - 199.19 bln rupiah vs 314.76 bln
Net profit - 171.98 bln rupiah vs 159.64 bln
Earnings per share - 12.51 rupiah vs 16.82

The comparative figures were restated due to several acquisitions,
with the latest being PT Tunas Harapan Perkasa, which took effect on
Jan 25, 2006.

Previously, the firm reported net profit of 147.32 bln rupiah in the
first half of last year on operating income of 280.87 bln and sales of
719.83 bln.

----------------------------------------------------

Indonesia's Bapepam seeks clarification of Lapindo sale

JAKARTA, September 27 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - The Capital Market
Supervisory Agency and Financial Institution (Bapepam-LK) will ask
publicly-listed Energi Mega Persada (JSX:ENRG) (Energi) for a
clarification on the selling of Lapindo Brantas Inc. to Lyte Limited,
a Bapepam-LK official said.

"Bapepam will ask for openness in information from Energi mainly on
legal and creditor approval aspects, real sector financial assessment
bureau head Nurhaida said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Bapepam will look into Energi Mega Persada's decision because it is a
public company.

Reports said Energi relinquished control of Lapindo by selling its
shares in Kalila and Pan Asia to Britain-based Lyte Ltd which was set
up in Jersey Island on January 17, 2006.

Energi sold Lapindo for only US$2 (two) to minimize financial losses
from an uncontrollable hot mudflow in East Java's district of
Sidoardjo.

Energi's corporate secretary Herwin Hidayat said the selling price was
calculated by an independent team based on calculations of amounts
that had already been and would be spent by Lapindo to handle the
disaster.

The independent team, namely Trustel Capital, calculated that Kalila's
normal market value was (-) US$22.815 million and Pan Asia's (-)
US$208,005.

-----------------------------------------------------------

The Economic Times (India)
September 29, 2006

Essel Mining to buy Indonesian co for $180m

Prince Mathews Thomas

MUMBAI: Essel Mining & Industries, the unlisted unit of the Aditya
Birla Group, is close to acquiring a mining company in Indonesia for
$180m in one of the biggest deals in the mining sector. The company
has the capacity to mine about five to 10m tonnes of coal a year, with
the reserves estimated at over 400m tonnes.

Essel Mining had shortlisted several companies and is believed to have
narrowed down the number. Other than catering to the Indian market,
the acquisition will help Essel export coal to South Korea, Japan and
Taiwan. The reserves will also be used for the group's own plants in
India.

Essel had initially conducted studies in South Africa, Australia and
Indonesia for possible mining assets. Though Australia has a
transparent economy, lower asset rates and cost of production, better
transportation logistics and proximity to India is believed to have
tilted things in Indonesia's favour.

Ravi Kastia, group executive president and business head, declined
comment. The latest move is a shift from the company's earlier plan of
bidding coal mining licences in the south-east Asian country.

"But the autonomy rules in the country, passed three years ago, gave
the right to grant mines to the local district administration. This
has made the issue locally sensitive and bidding for licences risky,"
said industry sources.

Permission to acquire companies rests with the central government.
Essel, therefore, does not see any problems with the deal.

The acquisition will be one of the biggest for the Indian mining
sector where exploration in coal is still a prerogative of public
sector companies. Essel Mining is one of the largest iron ore mining
companies in the non-captive private sector with reserves of almost
200m tonnes. Last year it produced 7m tonnes of iron ore. The company
is the country's largest producer of noble ferro alloys like
molybdenum, vanadium and titanium.

The Aditya Birla Group already has a substantial presence in Indonesia
with five of its subsidiaries producing yarn, viscose staple fibre and
carbon disulphide. The country has also become a favourite for Indian
steel companies.

While Tata Steel has mentioned that Indonesia is one of its growth
markets, JSW Steel is supposed to be conducting studies for possible
acquisition of coal mines. Essar Steel has set up a 0.4m tonne per
annum cold rolling complex in the country.

Essel has mining operations at Barbil in Orissa's Keonjhar district
and its ferro-chem division is situated at Vapi in Gujarat. The
company had recently announced an investment of Rs 200 crore to
increase its production to 9m tonnes in two years.

------------------------------------------------------------

Global metallurgical coal prices to fall; thermal coal prices higher - 
Citigroup

SYDNEY, September 28 (XFN-ASIA) - World metallurgical coal prices are
expected to fall when the next round of negotiations take place for
the contract year beginning April 2007, while thermal coal prices are
likely to rise, Citiigroup global commodity analyst Alan Heap
forecast.

Speaking to a coal industry conference in Sydney, the analyst said
weakening demand and rising supply of metallurgical or coking coal
will weigh on these prices.

Heap said the global supply and demand balance for coking coal, used
in steel making, is expected to see supply steadily rise to a peak in
2008 and fall back to a small surplus in 2009.

Despite this, he said steel demand and supply in China is expected to
continue growing, with a forecast 407 mln metric tons of steel output
in 2006 seen rising to 470 mln tons in 2008.

Heap said China is likely to have flat exports of coking coal this
year because of China's rising demand for domestic steel supply, as
well as an increased supply of coking coal from Mongolia.

The analyst said India's imports of coking coal are expected to
steadily rise out to 2009, but this will depend on whether domestic
technologies are further developed to utilize 'poorer-quality' types
of domestic coking coal.

Heap said thermal coal prices will be underpinned by stronger demand
and ongoing supply constraints in prices.

'Our expectation is we'll see another increase in thermal coal prices
when the next round of negotiations take place,' he said.

Beyond the next contract year, prices are forecast to ease as supply
from Australia increases due to easing infrastructure constraints, a
slowing in the rate of growth of the robust Chinese economy and lower
demand resulting from the beginning of the Phase 2 European carbon
trading scheme.

Heap forecast that Australian exports of thermal coal are likely to
continue to experience infrastructure bottlenecks until at least 2008,
easing 'quite dramatically' thereafter.

He said thermal coal exports from South Africa are expected to
continue falling as capital investment is lacking in areas such as
rail infrastructure.

Indonesia's thermal coal exports are likely to rise, with any
potential increase in domestic use constrained by the coal being
situated in the country's outlying regions such as Kalimantan from it
is easier to export than supply the domestic market, Heap said.

Heap noted China's domestic energy market is critical to world prices
ahead given 'the spectre for thermal coal imports into China is
certainly there.'

He noted China's thermal coal resources are located in the far west of
the country and have not had the same amount of development as the
nation's metallurgical coal resources, which are situated in the
industrialized eastern provinces.

Heap said China's demand of thermal coal is certain to grow given that
160 gigawatts (GW) of extra energy supply is planned for this year and
next, lifting the country's capacity to 660 GW by the end of 2007.

He said India is also likely to experience greater imports of thermal
coal given the poor quality of its domestic supplies and the country's
low level of infrastructure expenditure for developing its thermal
coal resources.

Meanwhile, Heap said the short-term restrictions on rising thermal
coal prices are unlikely to continue.

These include the previously released inventories held by utilities
which weighed on world thermal coal prices, as well as an easing in
the recent strength of shipments from Indonesia's supplies.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Finders Resources says results indicate significant zinc by-product from Wetar

LONDON, September 29 (AFX) - Finders Resources Ltd said
hydrometallurgical testing on the Wetar Copper project in Indonesia
indicate the potential for 'significant' zinc by-product.

'The potential for a significant zinc by-product is an added bonus,
and we remain confident of being able to reach a production decision
for the project in the second half of 2007,' said managing director
Chris Farmer. A decision by that date would allow for first production
in late 2008 or early 2009.

Initial results on Lerokis concentrate samples were highly successful,
it said. The Albion Process and Outokumpu HydroCopper technology
process both yielded copper recoveries of 93 pct, as well as high (85
and 99 pct respectively) recovery of zinc, the company said.

------------------------------------------------------------

Platts Commodity News
September 28, 2006

Australia's Indo Mines earns 30% stake in Java ironsands project

Australian mineral exploration company, Indo Mines, has earned a 30%
interest in the Yogyakarta Ironsands Pig Iron Project in Central Java,
Indonesia, the company said in a statement Thursday.

Indo Mines and project partner PT Jogja Magasa Mining agreed to vary
the original earn-in agreement, so that Indo Mines can now earn an
initial 30% interest in the project upon the completion Wednesday of a
measured JORC Code compliant resource. Previously, Indo Mines could
only earn equity at the end of the earn-in phase, which was a 70%
interest upon completion of a positive feasibility study.

The company still has to complete the bankable level feasibility stage
to earn a further 40% in the project. A feasibility study is scheduled
to start next month and subject to a positive outcome, the ironsands
deposit at Yogyakarta will be used as the basis for the establishment
of a liquid iron making facility in the Yogyakarta Region to provide
feedstock for major regional steel producers.

The JORC Code compliant measured/indicated/inferred resource for the
surface sand unit at Yogyakarta contains the iron equivalent of about
39 million mt of iron. This amount of contained iron paves the way for
the development of the Yogyakarta deposit, which has enough contained
iron to supply a minimum output of 500,000 mt/year of pig iron for a
minimum of 20 years.

Alternative production scenarios will be investigated in a bankable
feasibility study scheduled next month.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Platts Commodity News
September 29, 2006

Indonesia's Kaltim plans methanol turnaround from Jan/Feb 2007

Indonesia's Kaltim Methanol Industries plans to shut down its 660,000
mt/year methanol plant in Bontang for maintenance from the end of
January or early February 2007, a source close to the company said
Friday.

The plant is scheduled to be idled for about one month.

The planned shutdown would limit methanol spot availabilities in the
region during the fourth quarter, as Kaltim would need to build up
inventory ahead of the turnaround.

Without the turnaround, the company would likely have had some spot
methanol available.

Kaltim has been out of the spot market since early this year as all
its methanol production booked by term customers and it is unlikely
that the company would have any spot product available for the rest of
2006, the source said. (See<PCA184>)

------------------------------------------------------------

Indonesia's BSP to build bio-diesel plant in Batam

JAKARTA, September 28 (Asia Pulse/Antara) - Plantation company PT
Bakrie Sumatra Plantation (BSP) (JSX:UNSP) said it plans to build a
bio-diesel plant using crude palm oil as feedstock in Batam to cost
around US$22 million.

Development Director of the company M.Iqbal Zanuddin said BPS
management hopes to start construction of the plant by the end of this
year.

Iqbal said the prospects of business in bio-diesel industry are good
especially as the basic material CPO is easily available in the
country.

Indonesia is the second largest producer of CPO in the world after Malaysia.

Iqbal said construction of the plant designed with an annual
production capacity of 100,000 tons, is estimated to take 18 months,
therefore, it should be operational in 2008.

The government has encouraged the use of alternative fuels to reduce
dependence on oil.

------------------------------------------

Petromindo Headlines,
Friday, September 29, 2006

Oil/Gas: 

- Pertamina further cuts Pertamax prices
- Pertamina to cut fuel prices for industry
- Indonesia to halve LNG to Japan: Paper
- EMP's acquired blocks contribute profit 
  in H1
 
Mining: 
 
- Finders reports high gold recoveries, grade 
  silver at Lampung project
- Non-tax revenue to reach Rp5.7 t from 
  mining in 2007
 
Power: 

- PLN is not transparent: Minister
- Govt wants quid pro quo for risk 
  guarantees
 
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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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