Undated photo of residents queue to buy 3-kilogram liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) canisters during a market operation in Surakarta, Central Java.(Photo: Antara) The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry said these fields could help the country reduce costly LPG imports, where large amounts are supplied from the US and the Middle East.
"If we could work on it immediately, this could add 1.2 million tonnes [to our LPG production], on top of the current production of around 1.9 million tonnes," energy minister Arifin Tasrif said, as quoted by Bisnis.com.
According to the ministry, Indonesia consumes 8 million tonnes of LPG annually with 83% of the supply derived from imports.
Last year, Indonesia imported 6.78 million tonnes of LPG, a 5.6% hike compared with the previous year, with shipments mostly coming from the US, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.
Previously, the ministry tasked the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKK Migas) to identify potential oil and gas fields in the country that could help local LPG production, which requires gas containing more than 4% propane and butane.
Over the past time, the government has sought to reduce LPG consumption by pushing consumers to shift to the state-backed piped gas network and use electric stoves. Other efforts include producing coal-derived dimethyl ether (DME), which it saw could substitute for costly LPG imports./.
VNA
